The Model Son
by twihart94
Summary: ON HOLD - BEING REWRITTEN. It's the year 2002 and Draco has been asked to marry in order to reclaim the Malfoy honour. He isn't too keen on an arranged marriage though, and he has his hands full taking care of his family. Draco/Astoria.
1. Draco's Epiphany

The Model Son

~ Prologue: Draco's Epiphany ~

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters in this fiction are the property of J.K. Rowling. I make no profit from this fiction.

Draco was trying to stall. Hesitant steps had replaced his normally purposeful walk, and the few house elves he passed looked shocked that he hadn't shot them his typical glare. He looked like he always did: wearing tailor-made clothes, polished shoes and his hair gelled to perfection. However, there was something wrong… something missing. Stopping by a mirror hanging by the numerous portraits, Draco took inventory of his reflection and tried to figure out what was wrong. The portraits surrounding the mirror all looked down at him; all with platinum blond hair, a pointed nose, a pointed chin, and last of all, a sneer that could only be pulled off by a Malfoy.

Looking back at his reflection, Draco realized what was wrong. He was missing his own sneer. The realization shocked him. He tried to rearrange his features into the familiar facial expression, but the result was a lopsided grimace. Draco tried once more, only to be foiled once again. Giving up, he re-evaluated himself. He wasn't evaluating his reflection this time, but what had become of his life.

He had never been the proud Malfoy that he had broadcasted to the Wizarding world. Growing up, he had always been loved and cherished by his parents, even though most people considered Malfoys too haughty and cold to care about anyone but themselves. He had always gotten what he wanted, and he had been a happy child.

The first thing he had been taught was to be proud of his heritage, and his pureblood status. As a child, he was influenced to believe that anyone who wasn't pureblood wasn't good enough for him. If he was caught playing a game of chase with the muggle children who had somehow gotten through the wards surrounding Malfoy Manor, he would be told off. He was never beaten… no, his parents loved him too much. But the impressionable Draco had interpreted from these lectures that if he didn't want to be told off, he wasn't to associate with muggles.

So you can only imagine the shock he received upon entering the real world and finding out how his views were looked down upon by muggle-loving folks and such. However, that didn't stop Draco from trying his best to make a good impression. But his best wasn't good enough. His attempts at making friends were shot down, because Draco had made it seem like people should be begging to be his best friends. He couldn't help it; his arrogance was inbred and he couldn't stop being an obnoxious pureblood as much as he could stop being a Malfoy.

By the time he realized his fatal error, it was too late, and Draco now had an image to uphold. His fellow Slytherin friends, most of whom he had known all his life, looked to him to be their leader when it came to harassing half bloods, mudbloods, and the like. Not wanting to lose the only friends he had, Draco had obliged, and continued being rude, while his subconscious acknowledged the fact that it wasn't going to pay off in the end.

The years passed, and the Dark Lord came to power once more. Still acting the part of arrogant pureblood Draco had agreed to become a Death Eater, while on the inside, he was terrified. The mistakes his beloved father had made had not put Draco in the Dark Lord's good books, and he was given the most terrifying of deeds. But he could not go through with it. And with that, the last of his pride had crumbled, and the Malfoys were ruined.

"Young master sir…" squeaked a tiny voice. "Hanky was sent to tell you sir, that your father is awaiting you, sir." The tiny voice brought Draco out of his reverie, and he turned on his heel to stare down at the house elf. This particular elf was wearing a towel around itself, fashioned in a style similar to that of a toga, and her head was bent; the elves had been told never to look their master in the eye.

"Hanky, is it?" Draco asked of the elf.

"Y-Yes sir," the house elf's head raised an inch upward, as if she was dying to see why her master's voice sounded so kind, but she stopped herself just in time.

Draco squatted down on his haunches, so that his face was at the level of Hanky's orb-like eyes. Hanky flinched backwards, but stopped herself from taking a step back. She was forced by his proximity to look him in the eye. "Tell father I'm on my way Hanky. And thank you," Draco watched bemusedly as Hanky's mouth dropped open at his nicety. She quickly apparated away to Draco's father's study.

Draco straightened and stood to hear whispers from his ancestor's portraits.

"The insolence!"

"Talking to a lowly servant… as if it were his equal!"

"You should be ashamed! What would your parents say?"

"It's the kids these days. They have no idea about aristocratic etique—"

"Stop!" Draco commanded. At once, he had the attention of all of the portraits, some who looked insulted, and others, simply shocked. "Why should I have to treat her so horribly? The only thing being arrogant has ever gotten anyone is into Azkaban! Father's the perfect example! I'm tired of acting like this! As if we were any better," Draco gave each portrait a condescending look and strode away, in the direction of his father's study.

"Well, I never!"

"That boy will bring shame upon our family name, I tell you"

Draco shook his head, and smiled wryly to himself. _They're never going to learn, and getting them to agree with me will be more work than I'm willing to put into it._ He finally reached his father's study, and was about to knock, when he hesitated. His father had only returned from Azkaban last week, and he had been acting strange. Draco had caught his father looking at him speculatively more than once, and just yesterday, he had walked in on him talking to someone via the floo. As soon as Lucius was aware of Draco's presence, he had bid a haste farewell to whoever it was on the other end, and had avoided Draco's gaze for the rest of the day.

Gathering up his courage, and feeling foolish for being afraid of talking to his own father, Draco rapped thrice on the solid wood door of the study.

"Come in."

Draco entered, feeling slightly weary. The study was more of a showroom than an actual study. His father had it built as a room where he could entertain his male guests. It was a large room, as all the rooms are in Malfoy Manor, and it was pentagonal in shape. Two of the five walls had floor to ceiling windows, and Lucius' desk was placed right in front of them. The windows revealed an overcast, dreary day, typical of Wiltshire county, where Malfoy Manor resided.

The rest of the room consisted of built in, wall-to-wall shelves that contained more books than that of a muggle public library. Some were valuable, some not-so- valuable. Some books were innocent novels, and others had instructions on dark magic. Besides the books, the study also contained priceless artifacts encased in a magically protected glass case. A large fireplace held a large fire dancing merrily, casting its light onto the numerous, comfortable-looking chairs placed in front of it.

His father sat at his desk, the outline of his chair a stark silhouette against the light from the windows. Draco walked forward and stood before the mahogany desk. The closer he went, the more he could make of his father's face. Lucius Malfoy's handsome face had become lined and he had many wrinkles. His face looked like that of a man much older than himself. Although Azkaban had not sent him beyond the edge, it hadn't been good to him. He was more reserved, even towards his family. His walk had less confidence in it, and he was a gaunt skeleton.

"Father. You called for me," Draco stated.

Lucius stood and walked around the desk to stand before Draco; he leaned against his desk. "Yes, Draco. I have yet to talk to you properly after my release from that place," Lucius couldn't bring himself to say the name out loud.

"Times have changed, my son. Five years ago, we were the power-holders of the Wizarding world. Now, we can't bear to go out in society, in fear of being looked down upon. The Dark Lord's gone, and with it, many of our allies. I was a fool, Draco. We all were. We believed that we had the right to be 'God', and that we could decide who was worthy enough to live, and who wasn't. The Dark Lord manipulated us, but that was only because we longed for the power he promised us."

"Things have settled down now. You've graduated from Hogwarts, and it is time you started to bear the responsibilities that come with being a Malfoy. Former Death Eaters have started to wander into the world again, Draco. We should follow. We will never have the respect we once had, but we can always try to make some new acquaintances."

"Yes, father," Draco dutifully agreed. Inside, a flame of hope that had been mere embers for the last five years began to replenish itself. He would finally be able to show the world his true self. He would make new friends, and he would try to make amends with the people he had treated horribly. Draco was so absorbed with this flame, that he didn't hear what his father was saying.

"-decided you should marry," Lucius was saying. Shock went through Draco. He stared at his father in astonishment.

"W-what, father? M-marriage?"

"That's right, Draco. To help you in your endeavors, I have arranged for you to be married. Her name is Astoria Greengrass, youngest daughter of a colleague from work. The Greengrass family has some of the purest blood in England, and I am sure she will make an excellent wife. She is a graduate of Beauxbatons, since she preferred France's climate to that of England's, but her sister, Daphne Greengrass, was a fellow Slytherin at Hogwarts, was she not?" here, Lucius gave Draco a wry smile.

"You will meet her tomorrow evening, at a ball hosted by her family. She has been told of this marriage, and she has agreed to meet you. Nothing has been finalized, but I have the highest hopes of becoming her father-in-law. You will treat her with the utmost respect, and try your best to get on her good side. Make me proud," Lucius looked at Draco with a strange look in his eye. Draco identified it as a look of a desperate man. "That is all. You may go now, Draco."

His heart now somewhere near the soles of his feet, Draco nodded to his father, not trusting himself to speak. He strode out of the study, closing the door harder than necessary. He took long strides to reach his bedroom; he slammed his door shut, locked it and started pacing around madly. The fire that had thrived only moments before had lost all of its light.

He stopped pacing and abruptly sat himself down on his large bed. He put his head in his hands, unconsciously imitating the picture of a defeated man. His hands slid into his hair, massaging his temples and messing up his gelled locks.

_Shit! I can't do this! I don't even know her! I'm only 22! I was planning on getting myself together before I marry! I'm too young to marry. _

Draco had met her sister, Daphne, before, and he wasn't very impressed. Daphne was an unusual Slytherin, rather quiet, calm and serene. She had the air of someone who had a lot of tolerance, and unlike most Slytherins, she didn't have a problem with non-purebloods. She was made fun of for being the 'softie' of Slytherin, and she had an affinity of books, rather like Hermione Granger. All of these were good things in a person, but Draco had always had the impression that she was slightly boring.

_What if her sister is the same? I'll have to marry someone like her, and be bored for the rest of my life!_ _She'll want me to become a caring, loving husband. I can't do that! I can't pretend to love someone I haven't even met! I have to talk to father. Maybe I can be her friend, but I'm certainly not going to marry her!_

Making up his mind, Draco went to his door and put his hand on the doorknob. But his resolution faltered. This wasn't right. He had promised father to be a good son. He should do what he was told and not complain. After all, he should be greatful to be alive.

With these depressing thoughts weighing down his mind, Draco stretched out on his bed, and tried to get to sleep, although it was only 8:00 PM. His night was full of tossing and turning, and finally in the dead of darkness, he fell into an uneasy slumber.

To be continued…

oOoOoOo

**A/N:** This is my first fiction. I shall see how you respond to it, and then put up the second chapter.

I know how annoying it is when authors beg you to review, but think of it this way. Reviewing is an investment. If your review has constructive criticism, the story will only get better ;-) I welcome flames. They are fun to laugh at.

If this story gets good feedback, I will be looking for a beta. Anyone willing to become a candidate? You can just tell me so in a review.


	2. The Ball

The Model Son

~ Chapter One: The Ball ~

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters in this fiction are the property of J.K. Rowling. I make no profit from this fiction.

_Last time…_

_Draco had just found out that he is to meet someone at the ball tonight, and he must persuade her to marry him..._

Draco stood in front of the gilded full-length mirror situated near his closet in his bedroom. He adjusted his tie, and had to stop from choking himself with it. He was a 'bundle of nervous', to quote Mattie. Currently, his beloved house elf nanny (though he would never admit it to anyone) was bustling about his room, putting away all of the clothes he had considered wearing. Unlike most female house elves, she wore pants fashioned from baby pants along with a shirt that used to be a pillowcase.

Looking back at the mirror, Draco assessed his appearance with a critical eye. He was wearing a gray dress shirt to accentuate his eyes, and a black suit over it. His legs were encased in black trousers matching his suit. The tie he wore was black, and his shoes were polished to shine. Mattie had convinced him to leave his hair natural, and Draco had to admit that it looked better this way. His platinum locks had grown long, and they hung over his eyes in a very casual way. His eyes, though sharp as ever, looked rather tired, belying a restless night.

Without being too vain about it, Draco knew that he was good looking. He had had many Slytherin admirers in Hogwarts, girls _and_ boys. Back then, he had to uphold his image of uncaring, arrogant arse, and therefore, he never had the opportunity to see anyone on a personal level. Not to mention his involvement with the Dark Lord had left him too busy.

If Draco was honest with himself, he would have to admit that most of the Slytherin girls weren't his type. Actually, he didn't know what his type _was_. Frustrated with his incompetence, Draco slumped down on his bed and put his head in hands, much like last night, only tonight, his hair felt nice to touch. _What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to woo this girl if I have no experience?_

"What is the matter with Young Master sir?" Mattie walked over to Draco and tilted her head to get a better look at his concealed face. Draco smiled at her and winked.

"Nothing, Mattie," Draco lied. But he was too easily found out. What he didn't know was that every time he lied, he had a tendency to scratch his left arm, where his dark mark used to be. The dark mark had evaporated with the demise of the Dark Lord, but the fear was still there. Mattie watched as his right hand compulsively went to his left and he scratched at the suit. She frowned.

"Young Master, are you not happy with Master's father's decision for an arranged marriage?" Mattie asked daringly. Normally, a house elf asking such a thing would be punished. It wasn't in their place to speak to their master like an equal. But Mattie had been Draco's confidante when he had needed support that could not be found from family. When he was sick, she was the one who made his favourite chicken noodle soup to make him feel better. When the Dark Lord had been extremely cruel, Draco would come to her for comfort.

No body but they two knew of this mother-son relationship. It wouldn't do to broadcast that the heir of the Malfoys treated a lowly house elf as a mentor. Mattie wasn't offended, because she too knew of the consequences. To the others in Malfoy Manor, Draco 'preferred' Mattie because she was more competent than other elves.

Draco now gave Mattie a look, telling her everything she needed to know. "Young Master needn't sacrifice himself. No, no. It wouldn't do, Young Master sir. Young Master would be unhappy with Young Master's new mate," Mattie murmured. "Young Master should tell Master Malfoy that he cannot do it. He mustn't," Mattie's eyes looked determined to stop her master from wasting his life away.

Draco smiled at the tiny elf. She was always there for him at times like this, and normally, he would have followed her advice, but not today. "Yes, Mattie. I am not happy about this marriage proposal. But I'm not going to 'knock it before I try it'. Who's to say that this… Astoria… would be all that bad? I haven't even met her!"

Mattie bowed her head, deep in thought. A slow minute ticked by, and finally, she looked up. "All right, Young Master sir. But if Young Master sir is needing to talk with Mattie, he should call Mattie," Mattie compromised. Draco nodded and patted the elf's head, making sure not to hurt her bat-like ears. He stood from the bed, and fixed his hair once more. As he ran his hand through the locks, he thought of something. He turned around to face Mattie, who was currently making his bed.

"Mattie, I want you to promise me that you won't tell father, mother or anyone else for that matter, about what I told you," Draco gave Mattie a hard look, "you aren't to write to them, you aren't to hand signal them and you aren't to communicate at all with them, about this discussion. Okay?" Mattie gave Draco a long look and nodded.

"Yes sir," she conceded. Draco immediately felt bad for mistrusting her, but it had to be done. He knew that Mattie wouldn't have said anything anyways, because Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy wouldn't dare believe the elf by he couldn't deal with his father talking his ear off about responsibilities. To make up for it, Draco crouched to Mattie's level and gave her a hug. The pair stood that way for a long while, until Draco had found the courage to get on with it.

He stood and strode to the door, donning his travelling cloak on the way. He wouldn't need it tonight, but it was typical of high class wizards to wear it wherever they go. Giving Mattie a final wave, he made his way to his father's study. He found Lucius waiting for him on one of the chairs facing the fireplace. On Draco's entrance, Lucius stood. He waited for Draco to approach him, and he looked over his son in a praising manner. No matter what, Lucius was proud of his son, and even though he didn't always acknowledge this, Draco knew it to be true by the small things Lucius would do for his son.

"Hello, my son. You look nice tonight. I see that you're wearing the tie I gave you," Lucius nodded approvingly. He turned away from Draco to walk over to his desk. He picked up a small velvet box and handed it to Draco.

"What is this, father?" Draco opened the box to find a beautiful platinum ring. It's band was thick, as was popular for male rings, and it was simple. In the middle, a large, round moonstone perched on a circular indentation in the band. The moonstone was beautiful. It was gray and had a silvery sheen, and the colour was perfectly matched to Draco's eyes.

"It's a ring, Draco. It's been in our family for years, and now that you've started shouldering your responsibilities, I thought it was about time you started wearing it," Lucius explained.

"Thank you, father! It's beautiful… I'll wear it to the party," Draco wanted to please his father so he slid the ring onto his finger. It was a perfect fit, and the stone shone beautifully in the light from the fireplace.

"Your welcome, Draco. Now, you best get going. Remember, you must treat everyone at the party respectfully. The guests will all be important personals, and if you make some connections there, you'll have a good start. Most importantly, be nice to Ms. Greengrass. According to her father, she can be a bit of a handful," his father cautioned.

"Alright father. I'll do as you say." _What does he mean by a handful? Is she snobby? Is she loud? Oh no… is she disabled?_ Draco shook his head to get rid of his wayward thoughts and bent down to grab a handful of floo powder from a pot near the fireplace. He threw it into the fire, and clearly stated "Greengrass Manor". He stepped into the fire, turned around and gave Lucius a wave. He didn't notice the tears that poured down Lucius' face, and the way his shoulders shook slightly.

oOoOoOo

Draco arrived at the manor's receiving room, consisting of many fireplaces, and attendants to help the newly arrived guests. An attendant immediately came to his assistance and Draco stepped out of the fire. He brushed down his clothes, but it was unnecessary. Years of practice had taught him how to floo without getting soot all over him. The attendant took his travelling cloak and headed to the coat room to put it away. Not a second later, an usher approached Draco to lead him to the large parlor.

Draco stood for a while and admired the site before him. The room was well lit by a multitude of crystal chandeliers and it was cluttered with large, comfortable sofas lined up along the wall to give the guests places to rest. There was a large balcony situated high on one wall, where the string quartet played a lively waltz. Everything in the room sparkled and shone in the light from the chandeliers. Waiters wearing uniforms of blue and red wandered about the room holding up platters of chutes filled with champagne.

Most glamorous of all were the guests. The women had taken this opportunity to show off. The primary colours were pastels, it seemed, and the ball gowns they donned all had voluminous skirts that to Draco, looked very inconvenient. They all donned many accessories ranging from heavy necklaces to tiaras. The men all had attires similar to Draco's, a dark contrast to the colourful gowns of the women. Draco had the feeling that the men were a sort of 'background' for the parading women.

The guests themselves all looked very important. Many were purebloods that Draco recognized; some were important people from the Ministry and others were rich wizards with old money. There were no former Death Eaters that Draco could see.

Not wanting to impose his presence onto people he didn't know, Draco grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and went to examine some of the many painting hanging along the walls. A few minutes passed, and an elderly, rather large man came up to Draco.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't a Malfoy. How are you, my boy?" the man smiled at Draco, but it didn't reach his eyes. Draco was immediately weary.

"I'm fine sir," he tried to be as cold as possible. He didn't want to talk to this fat old man.

"I haven't seen any of your lot in a while. Bet you had to go into hiding after all that you-know-who business," the man winked. He had said that last part rather loudly, and heads nearby turned to see what the commotion was.

Draco was sorely tempted to resort to his old ways, sneer, and tell the old man to go to hell. But his father had told him to behave, and that's what he was going to do. That didn't mean he couldn't have fun though, did it?

"Yes, sir, we did go into hiding. We had to do a lot of running to get away from the officials. You might want to try the same thing. You know, lose a little bit of that weight. It'll do you a world of good," Draco said all this with the politest tone he could muster under the circumstances. Nervous titters followed his little speech, and the old man's face was turning an unsightly shade of purple. Not wanting to get more involved, Draco gave the man a shallow, mocking bow, and turned on his heel, a smirk on his face.

Fortunately, he spotted a familiar place and he walked over to his old school friend. He was greatful to have someone to talk to… someone who wouldn'tjudge him. At least he hoped he wouldn't.

"Hello Blaise. Nice to see you. What brings you to this party?" Draco shook Zabini's hand and gave him a small smile. It seemed that Zabini was still a friend, for he smiled back.

"Mr. Greengrass is a close friend of mother's ninth husband. It was only appropriate that we should be invited along," Blaise said in a monotone. It was clear what he thought of his mother and her numerous husbands. "There's a rumor that the younger Greengrass daughter is set to be married, and that the bloke's supposed to be here at the party. You have any idea who it could be?" Blaise gave Draco a look, telling him that he knew.

"Don't play with me Zabini. You know full well that it's me. Father's arranged for me to meet her, and we'll see what comes of it. Frankly, I have no clue of what to expect. I've only ever met her sister, and even her, I don't know that well. Have you met her?" Draco inquired.

"No. She went to Beauxbatons, didn't she?" at Draco's nod, he continued, "All I know about Beauxbatons students is that they're all beautiful. You're one lucky guy, Draco," Zabini looked wistfully at Draco, who gave him a wry smile.

Someone called Draco's name. It was a vaguely familiar voice… girly, high-pitched and all-together annoying. Draco craned his head to find the person and he went pale. It was Pansy. _Oh no, oh no… no, no, no!_ "Hey, sorry Blaise, but I have to go. Ummm… I really need to… get a refill," and with that, Draco fled.

Pansy was not Draco's favourite person in the world. At school, she had followed him around, and he could do nothing to stop her. She had been an insufferable flirt, and it was all he could do to hold her at bay. She had scared all his other female companions off… she wanted him all for herself. If she caught up to him, she'd make sure that everyone in the room knew that he was hers. He couldn't have that… not on the night he'd meet Astoria!

Draco found a hallway leading away from the parlor. He turned around quickly to make sure that Pansy hadn't seen him. Once he was sure, he ran, and ran, until he came across a storage room. He opened it cautiously, and seeing that no one was in there, he barricaded himself in it. He slammed the door shut, turned around and examined the room, which was small enough to be considered a closet.

There was nothing much in the closet besides a broom and some bent up pails. There were some spider webs and Draco could make out at least three different spiders. He took his wand out and muttered a spell to get rid of the stale smell lingering in the closet. He didn't do anything to the spiders. They didn't bug him, so he wouldn't bug them.

_This is no good. I can't hide here the whole night. I need to go meet Astoria. I wish Pansy would just go away._ And suddenly, Draco knew what to do. He took a deep breath, and called out, "Mattie. I need you."

To be continued…

oOoOoOo

**A/N: **So… this is chapter one of The Model Son, hereby known as TMS. I hope it was good! It's actually really hard to write in house-elf-speech. I had trouble using bad grammar ;-)

Anyways, I would like your help to continue this story. I have a vague idea of what the next four or five chapters will be like. But I would like some more ideas. They will all be taken seriously, and I will give full credit to whoever's ideas are most helpful.

I would like to thank Aspieturtle for being the first reviewer! It was the first review I have ever, ever gotten, and it made my day! I'd also like to thank emLILYEVANS for reviewing. (I **did **read your profile, Emily. You should add more to it! ;-D)

By the way, I'm still looking for a Beta!

Currently, statistics stand at:

Writing time: 3 hours

Feedback: 137 Hits to 2 Reviews (This doesn't count, because Fan Fiction was down for a couple of days. So you're all off the hook, but just this once. :-P)

(I will keep you all updated on these stats to tell you how many people actually bother to review.)

Written 2009 – 2 – 22

Published 2009 - 2 - 25


	3. First Meeting

The Model Son

~ Chapter Two: First Meeting ~

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters in this fiction are the property of J.K. Rowling. I make no profit from this fiction.

A great big thanks goes to **Lady Grace of Masbolle** who has volunteered to become my beta.

**Warning**: This particular chapter has a few words that may be offending to some readers (more so than usual ;-P). If you are not comfortable with that, I would advice you to stop reading.

_Last time…_

_Draco is at the Greengrass Ball, and so far, it hasn't gone well. He is currently hiding in a storage closet, in order to escape from Pansy Parkinson. He has called Mattie to assist him in getting out._

Draco was alerted to Mattie's presence as a small pop echoed throughout the small room. He stood from his cramped sitting position by the door to face Mattie, who was eyeing the storage room. She turned back to Draco and Draco had the impression that if house elves had eyebrows, Mattie's would be somewhere high. She was not impressed with the condition of the closet.

"Young Master sir called for Mattie?" Draco stared at Mattie for a while before he spoke. He had to be sure that nothing would happen. His plan, although far from foolproof, would work to some extent, but if it was to work, he couldn't be the one to execute it. It would do no good for his cause if he were to be seen. He felt bad for asking Mattie to do his dirty work, but it was the only way. With that resolve, Draco proceeded to instruct Mattie.

oOoOoOo

It had been a few minutes since Mattie had left him to wait for her in the closet. Draco smiled fondly as he remembered her parting words. 'Young Master Sir, Mattie will not disappoint! Mattie will complete this mission!" and with a parting salute, she had left. _I wonder where she learnt to salute_. Immersed in his thoughts, Draco looked around the storage room once more. He noted the absence of the three spiders that had run amok in the closet before, and smiled.

Draco suddenly heard noises coming from the ballroom. It sounded like a woman had screamed loudly. Now it sounded like the guests were all murmuring to themselves. _That was Pansy who screamed; I'm sure of it. My plan is working!_ Draco was delighted. Maybe he would actually get a chance to get out of this closet. All of a sudden he was disoriented. The little light that had shone through the door crack vanished, and the closet was now pitch black. Outside, he could hear that the string quartet had stopped playing. There was another odd noise in the silence… rather like a dog barking. Then a loud squeal resonated throughout the dark house.

_What's going on? Oh no… don't tell me Mattie got caught. _As Draco started panicking, he heard footsteps resounding in the outside hallway. They didn't help his thought process. _Oh shit! Why are there people near? What if they find me, and ask me who I am? They'll think I'm up to no good. Dad won't be too happy with that._ Suddenly, he heard a whispered feminine voice outside.

"Alohomora!" Draco had backed up into the corner of the small closet and pressed up against the wall, hoping that somehow, just somehow, the person who was about to enter would not see him; after all, the whole house was dark. The door flew open, and all Draco could see was a dark slim silhouette against a slightly less dark background before the figure walked in and shut the door closed.

Draco could see nothing, but he felt the presence of the woman right in front of him. His sudden blindness made his other senses more potent, and his nose picked up the smell of something sweet… something akin to vanilla. It was the woman's shampoo, Draco reasoned. The smell did wonders to his thought process; it calmed him down from his earlier panic, and he was no longer worried about Mattie. _Ridiculous! It's just a smell._ Draco stayed put and waited for the woman to do something. However, he did not expect what happened next.

"That bitch! Who does she think she is? I swear that if I see her face again, I will hex her. The insolent dimwit… gate crashing a party and having the nerve to complain. Hope no one finds her. That way she can stay as a pug forever… it wouldn't make much of a difference anyways," the hostile voice chuckled rather mischievously, and then quieted down. Draco marveled at the voice, and her slight French accent. It was amazing how beautiful she sounded, even as she uttered profanities. The voice had harmony, and it was as if every word she spoke was a beautiful composition of its own.

_Whoa. Where did that come from? That was even cheesier than Mrs. Zabini's romance novels, and those are very cheesy._ Draco had to hold in a chuckle before he gave himself away, although that was bound to happen anyway. _Wonder why she's so upset. She had said something about pugs… is she talking about Pansy? _He heard the rustle of fabric as the woman moved. He stiffened and waited for the inevitable.

"Lumos," the beautiful voice muttered. Suddenly, there was light in the closet as the small tip of her wand lit up, and Draco could see the woman more clearly.

_Wow. Even her back is beautiful._ The woman had hair that reached just below her shoulders and it was jet black, reminding Draco of a certain other raven-haired boy-who-lived. The hair was dead straight, and it was reflecting the white light from the wand, so it almost looked blue. The dress the woman wore was white, and that's all Draco had time to notice before the woman started moving.

She raised her hand so that the luminous wand tip was at eye-level and she slowly rotated, taking inventory of the closet. The first thing she saw was the bent up pails, and then the spider webs. She flinched at the webs hanging from the walls and took a small step back from the webs. She then turned a bit more and her eyes came to rest on Draco.

Draco stood frozen. He couldn't move. He could hear his heart beat in his head; it was that loud. She was _exquisite. _The first thought that came to his mind was that she was a veela, but he quickly lost that train of thought and just immersed himself in watching her. Her straight black hair was styled nicely, but a few errant locks hung in her angelic face. She blew at the hair, which only floated away from her eyes and onto her cheek. That small motion brought to attention her lips. She had small, full lips of the perfect pink.

Her cheeks had puffed out slightly while blowing, and as the air left them, he could see the refined shape of her face. Her skin was pale… paler than his, but there were red tinges on the crests of her cheekbones, which were high on her face. There were three adorable freckles scattered on her nose which would not have been visible had it not been for the bright light of the wand.

Her forehead was slightly creased in a small frown and her eyes… her _eyes. _Suddenly Draco's lips twitched as he was reminded of Dumbledore's eyes. Her eyes were a darker blue, but they had the familiar twinkle. He even had the feeling that she was looking through him, into him, just like Dumbledore had. He tilted his head slightly to take note of what she was wearing.

What he saw surprised him. Instead of the voluminous attire that the pampered women outside donned, she wore a relatively simple gown that only served to accentuate her beauty farther. The sleeveless gown was tight fitting along the torso, but flared at the waist. The off-white material had a delicately beaded pattern along the waist and the hem. She wore no jewelry or make-up. She didn't need to.

The tight gown revealed a slim figure, but not a skinny body. Being an athlete himself, Draco recognized the toned muscles of her bare arms. He wondered at what sport she played to have such a body. Lost in his musings, Draco failed to notice that all the while, the girl had been subjecting him to the same discreet treatment he had to her. He didn't see her taking stock of his own features and attire, or the expression of shock that passed her face when she saw the ring on his finger.

Raising his gaze back to her face, Draco stopped breathing as he saw a small smile on her face grow into a delightful, rather cheeky grin. The twinkle in her eyes grew into a full-blown star and Draco felt his lips move into a reciprocating smile. She was fascinating. He made her want to know why she was smiling like that; he wanted in on the secret.

"So," she surprised him by speaking. "I'm not the only one hiding," her grin widened, and he could see the sparkling white teeth behind the beautiful lips. He was slightly thwarted at her candid manner of speaking, but then again, here they were, hiding in a closet, both fugitives from who-knows-what. He didn't miss the subtle question in her statement, and he planned to answer it. He contemplated her for a moment, wondering if the truth or a lie would serve his purpose more. He decided on the truth.

"I was trying to get away from Pansy Parkinson," he admitted. His small smile had turned rueful, and he explained. "She wasn't exactly the company I wanted at the moment," he felt rude for talking behind Pansy's back, but the girl before him looked like she wouldn't care anyway. He waited for her response, and she burst out laughing. He had expected some amusement at his, or even Pansy's expense, but not outright _laughter._ He watched her head tilt back and her mouth open into a full laugh; as her head moved, the hair she had pushed away came back to rest in front of her eyes. After a few moments, she saw him watching her and she quieted. Once again, she blew the hair off her face. The twinkle in her eyes was still there.

"It's funny you should say that. I was actually running away from her too… more like _because _of her…" she muttered the last part softly. Draco arched a brow in question. "For some reason, someone thought it would be funny to set three _engorgio_'ed spiders loose on her," she started to explain. Draco had to look away for a moment in order to rearrange his face into a somber one so that he wouldn't reveal himself.

"I personally thought it was a brilliant idea, but she started shrieking at everyone to help her. It was easy enough to get rid of the spiders but the idiot was so scared she couldn't even shrink them back. Then all of a sudden, she started accusing Mr. Greengrass of being a bad host who couldn't control pests in his house. She was really making me mad, and that accusation was the last straw," her eyes, which had turned hostile, talking about Pansy, started to lighten up once more, and she let out a small giggle.

"So I turned her into a pug dog. It was the most hilarious thing ever, watching her bark at me. I wanted her out, so I drop-kicked her over verandah balcony. I didn't want dad to start lecturing me on etiquette so I ran away," she watched him expectantly for his reaction, her eyes twinkling. He didn't disappoint. Draco had tried not to laugh throughout her explanation but now, he was crying for laughing so hard. It was nice to see her Pansy what she deserved, for once. Something the girl had said registered, and Draco turned quizzical eyes to her.

"What's a drop-kick?" he felt stupid for not knowing. But the girl just gave him an indulgent smile as if she was saying, _you poor, misguided creature_.

"Well, I'm not surprised you don't know. You are a pureblood after all. It's a muggle sport from America. I watched a couple of games during my muggle studies class," she didn't say it condescendingly, but rather like a mother resigned to her little boy's antics.

Draco had the grace to look ashamed. He knew that times had changed, and purebloods were not of importance anymore. He could understand the girl's thinking. What he didn't understand was how she knew that he was a pureblood. He had an autocratic look about him, but so did many other non-purebloods.

"Hang on. How did you know I was a pureblood?" he hoped his appearance didn't broadcast that he was a stuffy snob. He had an inexplicable desire to impress this girl, and coming off as boring was not the way to bring that about. He tried to be as light as possible in asking the question, hoping to convey to her that he really didn't care either way.

"For one thing, you have a pureblood look. You know, posh, rich, impeccably dressed and good-looking," Draco raised his eyebrows, and she blushed a little, but continued. "You're also wearing the Malfoy ring. And seeing as that only the heir of the Malfoys would be wearing that ring…" she trailed off, assuming that he would get the picture.

Draco nodded, and thought of another question. He normally wouldn't have been so persistent, but he wanted to hear her voice. He wanted to know everything about this unusual girl. On examining this thought, he immediately felt guilty. He shouldn't be thinking these thoughts when he was supposed to meet Astoria later that night. _Look at me. I haven't even met her and I'm already unfaithful_. His good reasoning didn't stop his question however. After all, they were just talking, right?

"How do you know that this is the Malfoy ring?" Draco fingered the gray-stoned ring on his finger. The stone shone in the light from the wand.

"Oh, I know all about your family. When father told me I would have to meet you, I thought it would be best if I researched up on y-"she was interrupted as another pop sounded in the cramped closet.

"Young Master sir!" an excited voice squeaked, "I have accomplished the mission! Mistress Parkinson won't be troubling you, Young Master sir!" Mattie ran over to Draco and hugged him around the legs. She was excited. She had never liked Pansy, and it was nice to get back at her for all the rude comments she had made about Mattie.

Draco forgot all about the girl as he watched Mattie in her excitement. He smiled indulgently. Sometimes, his nanny acted more like a kid than he did. He picked Mattie up and placed her around his shoulders. He gave her an awkward hi-5 and congratulated her on a job well done. All this time, the girl just looked on with an amused smile on her face.

"Well, well, well. What would Malfoy Sr. say if he knew that his only son was associating with house elves in this manner?" she teased. But Draco, not noticing her mirth, took her seriously. His mouth dropped open, his face paled and he looked at her with a horrified expression.

"Please, I – please, don't say anything to him. I don't want him to kn-" he was stuttering, and she interrupted.

"Relax. I was just pulling your leg. I won't tell him. Maybe," she winked, and this time, Draco did notice her amusement and he relaxed. Suddenly, the lights were back on outside in the hallway. The crack underneath the door was letting in the light from the hallway once more. Noticing that his attention had wavered, the girl turned around and noted the light.

"Well. I guess it's about time we headed out. It would look suspicious if we both came out at the same time. So I'll head out first, and then you can come out five minutes later," she ordered. Draco nodded, and she opened the door.

"Hang on! I didn't get your name," he couldn't believe he'd been so stupid. He'd been talking to her for the past fifteen minutes, and he didn't even know her name.

"I was wondering when you'd ask," she teased. "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out already. No normal guest would get so mad just because someone insulted the host; not unless the host was her father," at Draco's shocked silence, she continued. "I'm Astoria Greengrass, but you can call me Tori," and with that she left the closet, her hair swinging behind her and the smell of vanilla leaving with her. She left behind an open-mouthed Draco and a confused Mattie.

oOoOoOo

**A/N: **No, I haven't died. I am sorry it took so long to update. I was actually planning to update a lot sooner, and I even had this chapter written weeks before. Of course, with my luck, I had to go and delete the folder containing all my chapters. Not to mention school has been torturous. I was reluctant to rewrite this, thinking that it would ruin the original, but it actually turned out better than before.

For anyone wishing to see what Tori's dress looked like, here is the URL:

.com/images/main_

Once again, I would like to thank **Lady Grace of Masbolle** for her editing. If any of you are fans of the Warrior series, you should go check out her fiction. If you are not fans of the Warrior series, then you should be. Anyone who likes cats should be, and if you don't like cats, I don't like you. xD No, I like you. You just have bad taste. (I'm sorry if I have offended anyone)

I wasn't very happy with the review count I received. I know this couple is not a popular couple, so I wasn't expecting many hits. But even with the number of hits I have received, I was hoping for more reviews.

I would like to thank:

for their review. I'm sorry for not updating sooner.

**David Fishwick** for their review. I'm glad you think it's nice.

**Lady Grace of Masbolle** for being a reviewer twice, as well as volunteering to become my beta.

**emLILYEVANS** for reviewing a second time. I wasn't trying to embarrass you. ;)

**Angelpris **for reviewing. I really am sorry that you can't be my beta. I loved your story Forbidden Love, and I think you should continue it. Remember to give me your opinion!

Currently, statistics stand at:

Writing time: 4 hours

Feedback: 386 Hits to 8 Reviews

Written 2009 – 2 – 22

Published 2009 – 3 – 14

**A/N: **Sorry, to anyone who received 2 alerts for this chapter. I had to correct some mistakes, so I had to re-upload it.


	4. False Conclusions

The Model Son

~ Chapter Three: False Conclusions ~

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters in this fiction are the property of J.K. Rowling. I make no profit from this fiction.

**Dedication:** I'd like to dedicate this chapter to a friend of mine from school. He worries that I stress out too much, and that I should have more fun. He doesn't know about fan fiction. xD I just want him to know that I'm grateful to him for caring. Bleh, that sounded cheesy.

As always, a great big thanks to **Lady Grace of Masbolle** who so wonderfully edited my stories, and for knowing what Historical Presence is (_there's_ an oxymoron).

_Last time…_

_Draco had asked Mattie to help him get rid of Pansy. While waiting for Mattie to come back, Draco meets a beautiful girl who he befriends in the closet. Upon Mattie's arrival, Draco finds out that the girl is in fact Astoria Greengrass, the girl who his father had asked him to marry._

It had been five minutes since Astoria… Tori, had left the closet, with Draco and Mattie still inside. Tori had asked Draco to leave the closet by now, but Draco was currently immersed in pacing around the closet. The size of the closet made it look like he was just turning circles. Mattie watched in amusement from a corner in the closet. The look on Draco's face was one that was seldom there: distraught.

_Oh my lord! I've done it now. She'll never want to marry; not after I crashed her party. Damn it. Why did I tell her? I could have just pretended that Mattie was talking about something else. Father definitely won't be happy about this. He'll probably disown me now._

Abruptly, Draco stopped pacing and sat down on the closet floor. He brought his knees up, tucked his chin in and wrapped his arms around himself, trying to take up as little room as possible. Mattie was reminded of the times there would be a thunder storm, and the younger Draco would go and hide in the same position he was in now. Growing up, when his mother had been too busy, he would rely on himself to get him through tough times.

Mattie wasn't having any of that today… she was going to be there for her master, even if he didn't want her to be. She didn't know what exactly the problem was, but she wasn't going to let Draco endure it on his own. She decided to speak up.

"Young Master sir, what be the matter?" Draco grunted for an answer and Mattie became cross with him; she was just trying to help! She realized it would be no good trying to talk to him when he was in this state. No good at all. That's why she wasn't going to talk to him – she was going to hit him.

_Thump!_

"Owww! What was that for, Mattie?" Draco rubbed the back of his head, a furious and confused expression on his face.

"Young Master sir was being stupid," Mattie realized her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth. She had become too comfortable with Draco, and she'd said the words without thinking them through. A house elf should never even touch her master, never mind tell him off. She waited for Draco to start reprimanding her.

The focus of her thought had his mouth open in shock, and he was looking at her in awe. His mouth closed, opened once more and closed again. Draco didn't know whether to be mad or not. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. He laughed for a long while, and he laughed hard. Mattie watched as he literally rolled on the ground, clutching at his abdomen, tears rolling down his cheeks.

She jerked as Draco pulled her into a hug. For a moment she thought he was going to hit her. She relaxed as he began talking.

"I'm sorry Mattie. I didn't mean to be cross with you. Let me explain," Draco pulled away and faced Mattie. "Do you know who that was?" Mattie shook her head no. "That was Astoria Greengrass, the girl father wants me to marry," his face was somber, and he didn't meet her eyes when he told her this.

Mattie nodded in understanding. It was obvious now why Draco was upset. All of a sudden, a knowing twinkle appeared in her orb-like eyes that Draco did not see. It seemed to her that Draco was upset for more than the fact that his father would be mad. She had seen the look Draco had given the girl as she was about to leave. She smiled. _It is good that Young Master sir can finally find a mate. She'll be good for him._

Mattie remembered something. "Young Master sir, did not Young Mistress Greengrass be asking you to leave this room?" Draco's head shot up and he looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Mattie, I don't think you understand. I can't go out there. She already knows I crashed her party. I'm surprised she didn't kick me out already. She'll hate me, and then father will find out!"

Mattie did not answer him immediately. She just watched him as he ranted and let him catch his breath before she said anything. "So?"

"What? What do you mean so? Father will hate me if I don't do what he says!"

Mattie sighed. "Young Master sir, Young Master's father will not hate Young Master. He will only be disappointed for long time, then he be happy with Young Master sir once more," she explained.

"Mattie… it's not like that. Father doesn't care about the reasons; he only wants to get back into the world. You've seen how hard it's been around the house lately. No one wants to talk to us, and mother's taking it hard. The only thing we have left is money, and that isn't any good if you have no one to spend it with, is it? Father and mother miss their friends, Mattie. _I_ miss my friends," he trailed off in a whisper.

Mattie sighed once more, and sat down. She looked over at Draco who was busy playing with the laces on his shoe. Suddenly, he stopped fiddling and stood up.

"Young Master sir?" Mattie questioned.

"Mattie, I don't think it would be good if I stayed here. I should probably leave. You go on ahead. I'll meet you at the manor in a few minutes," Draco walked towards the door, and with a wave goodbye to Mattie, he slipped out of the closet. Releasing one last sigh, Mattie popped away to the Malfoy Manor.

oOoOoOo

Draco strode towards the ballroom, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He was about to go back into the ballroom where he was sure everyone knew about him and his antics. He expected to receive some ribbing, of course. People would make fun that the great Malfoy son treats house elves as equals and pulls pranks on innocent girls. He'd be shunned, and he would have to go back home, his tail between his legs.

Draco turned the corner that led to the ballroom when someone ran straight into him. The crash upset his balance, and as much as he tried, he couldn't stay upright. He fell to the floor, the other person falling with him. Draco sat up from the floor and shook his head to clear it. Immediately, the scent of vanilla overwhelmed his nose, and he had that odd calm feeling again.

The woman on top of him had her head bent, and all he could see was the crown of her head, covered by jet-black hair. Draco only just stifled a groan before it could escape. _This is not good. Why'd she have to come back? She probably wants to rub it in my face some more. And now, I can't leave the ball… not without having to come up with an excuse._

Tori lifted her head up and startled when she saw that it was Draco. After a moment, her mouth split into a wide grin. Their faces were inches away from each other, and Draco had the urge to lean in and kiss her. _Get a hold of yourself! She's off-limits; not to mention she hates your guts._

Tori was now sitting up, allowing Draco to prop himself up on his elbows. "Oops," she laughed. "I didn't see you there," She got to her feet and after brushing herself off, she offered a hand to Draco to help him get up. Draco ignored her hand and picked himself up. He patted himself down and turned to face Tori. The scuffle had mussed up her hair, and a few strands had fallen out of the bun, hanging across her forehead.

To her credit, she hadn't even flinched at Draco's subtle rejection. It seemed she found it amusing, for she was smiling at him. He frowned slightly at her and started to apologize, but she interrupted.

"You took long enough getting out of there. I thought you'd gone home or something. What were you doing?" she leaned against the wall, and Draco could now see past her into the ballroom, currently filled with couples dancing.

"I beg your pardon, Ms. Greengrass," Draco started, completely ignoring Tori's question, "but I must be going. It seems I have some urgent to-do back at home," he fibbed. "My house elf's just warned me of it a moment ago," Draco added; whatever it takes to make her believe him.

To his amazement, she snorted. "How old do you think I am, _Draco_?" she emphasized his name, to let him know that his formality wasn't necessary. "I heard you were a stick in the mud, but _no one_ ditches any of my parties!" she blew impatiently at the strands of hair that hung in her face.

"Pardon me?" he was relieved. She was so frank about everything and for a moment, he thought that she knew about his ranting to Mattie.

"I said, that you're a stick in the mud, Malfoy!" she was teasing him, but Draco couldn't see that. He was becoming annoyed. He didn't need this. He knew she was making fun of him, and he just wanted to leave.

Tori watched him have the internal argument, and though Draco couldn't see it, her blue eyes softened. "All right, I'll stop. Come on, father would like to meet you," she was about to turn around when Draco's voice stopped her.

"What? What do you mean?" he couldn't believe it. He was going to be lectured by Mr. Greengrass himself. _Oh, the humiliation._

"Why are you so worried?" Tori squinted at Draco, trying to figure him out.

"Well, isn't it obvious? Your father wants to yell at me; of course I'm worried!" Draco was at the end of his leash. It seemed that the girl was purposefully trying to irritate him. Why couldn't she just let him leave?

Tori burst out laughing, surprising Draco. "Wow, you're unbelievably dense, did you know that?" she looked up, expecting him to retort, but when he didn't, she continued. "My father doesn't know that you were the one who harassed Pansy. And even if he did, he wouldn't mind at all. Quite frankly, he'd probably congratulate you," Tori beamed. She was proud of her father, that much was obvious.

Draco was dumbfounded. "Does that mean you didn't tell anyone, then?" he clarified. He didn't want to jump to conclusions again.

"No, I didn't tell anyone. Don't worry so much!" and with that, Tori grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him along towards the ballroom.

Draco tried to pull his wrist out of her grasp but he couldn't, not without hurting her. So he allowed her to drag him out, in front of the numerous couples dancing. Some of them stopped and watched the couple's progress across the floor. Draco felt his face heat up; how did it look to these people, him being dragged by Tori. He didn't think he wanted to know.

Draco caught sight of Blaise standing by the wall, near the refreshments. Blaise caught his eye, looked at Tori, back at Draco and raised one eyebrow. He hadn't said anything, but the message was clear. Draco blushed more, and tried to pull his wrist away once again, to no avail. Tori was strong.

At last, they had reached their destination. Draco found himself shoved forward, right in front of a tall, imposing man with salt and pepper hair. He would have been very intimidating had it not been for his eyes. They were Tori's eyes, and they held the same twinkle.

"_Papa, regarde! Ce qui est je vous parle. Son nom est Draco Malfoy._ [Papa, look ! This is who I was talking about. His name is Draco Malfoy]," Tori started speaking rapid-fire French to her father, and Draco couldn't follow. He only managed to hear his name before his hand was engulfed in a handshake. Mr. Greengrass watched Draco, carefully appraising him. Draco had the same feeling of his soul being examined.

_Damn. Why does the whole family remind me of Dumbledore?_ For some reason, the similarity between Mr. Greengrass and Dumbledore gave Draco unease. He wasn't totally comfortable with the subject of Dumbledore. Thinking about the old coot gave him a feeling of shame. It had always been like that, ever since that day in the tower where he had refused to kill him. He didn't regret not killing him, but that incident was the reason for the Dark Lord's hatred of him.

"Hello, son. It's nice to finally meet you. Your father was a very good friend of mine. It's a shame about what happened," Mr. Greengrass sighed, and he let go of Draco's hand to fiddle with the wine glass he held. "I tried to warn him, but he was young, and he wanted power. I'm glad that he's out of the horrid place. Please ask him to come visit some time. He and I can get caught up on all that's happened," Draco immediately looked to Tori, to gauge her reaction of all that her father had said. He didn't want her to get the impression that his family was to be pitied.

She was watching him, her head at an angle, rather like _she_ was evaluating _him._ Draco missed the small smile that passed Mr. Greengrass' face as he saw Tori's hand, still holding onto Draco's wrist.

"Of course, sir. I'll make sure to tell him of your invite. It'll do him good to get out more," _and I can see more of Tori_.

_Whoa… I didn't say that just now, did I? No, I didn't. She's out of my league, and this disaster of a ball just proved it._ Mr. Greengrass was talking to him again, forcing Draco to listen.

"All right then, tell him to come by next week. I'm having a few friends from school over, and it can be a reunion for him," Draco nodded, and Mr. Greengrass continued. "Enough about your father; how are you enjoying your night?"

"It's been wonderful, sir," Draco fibbed. Tori snorted, and Mr. Greengrass gave her a questioning look. She started to explain.

"Papa, Draco's been sitting in a closet for most of the night because he was hiding from Pansy. He was the one who set the spiders on her," Tori said all this so fast, Draco didn't have a chance to interrupt.

Now, with the damage having been done, Draco stood before Mr. Greengrass and waited for the yelling to begin. Instead, Mr. Greengrass chuckled. He once again pulled Draco's hand into a handshake and looked into Draco's shocked face.

"I'm glad, son. She was getting on all of our nerves. It's about time someone did something about it," Draco shot Tori a bewildered face. She mouthed "I told you so" back to him. Surprised, Draco couldn't help laughing a little at this quirky new family. It seemed that Tori wasn't the only fascinating member of the clan.

"Papa! I see you've met Draco," a new voice interrupted. Draco turned to see Daphne Greengrass, walking towards them. After meeting her sister, Draco couldn't help but marvel at the similarities between them. They both had the same hair and eyes (surprise, surprise) but Daphne had a more mature look to her. Draco had the sneaking suspicion that she had attained the look after years of dealing with Tori.

He smiled at Daphne, who shook his hand. "Hello, Daphne, it's been a while. How have you been doing?" he asked politely. He didn't really know much about her or her him, so there was a slight awkwardness between the two.

"I'm doing well, Draco. I've been working at Madame Malkin's. How about you?" she seemed interested. After all, he was the Slytherin Ice Prince in the flesh.

"I haven't had the chance to find a job. I've been too busy taking care of the estate. But now that Father's back, I suppose it's about time I look for one. Any suggestions?" He was slightly embarrassed at not having a job, but what he had said was true. He really had been too busy taking care of everything, especially his mother, to find a job.

"Why don't you try the ministry? The post-war hype is over, and they're looking for new recruits, especially Aurors. Even though You-Know-Who is gone, there are some still gits out there who think they can become the next Dark Lord," she grinned, and Draco was surprised. It seemed that she wasn't so boring after all. Beside him, Mr. Greengrass chastised his eldest daughter to watch her mouth.

"Well, well, what is this? I wondered why there was a crowd gathering and who is to be in the middle but Draco Malfoy himself," a new voice, male, disturbed their conversation. Draco turned to be confronted by none other than Theodore Nott himself. Draco had always liked Nott, though the feelings weren't reciprocated. Nott was a clever boy, and one of the few Slytherins who could think for themselves. He had always defied Draco's little gang at school.

The tall, curly-haired man walked up to Daphne, and to Draco's shock, slid his arm around her and placed a chaste kiss to her temple. He whispered something in her ear, and Daphne blushed. Tori cleared her throat, and when Draco glanced at her, she shot him a wink.

"Hello, Nott," Draco said by way of introduction. "I didn't know you were so… close… to Daphne," he had to stifle a chuckle. It would seem that the solitary Slytherin had finally found a woman. Nott turned to him and shot him a grin. He took his arm off Daphne and shook Draco's hand.

"I've only been this close for a couple of years," at Draco's raised eyebrows, Nott laughed. "Daphne and I are engaged," he explained.

"Congratulations, Daphne, Nott. I wish you two the best of luck in life." And with that, the small group dispersed, each with their own destination. As he stood there with Tori watching him, Draco felt elation fill him. If Nott, a son of a Death Eater himself, could find a happy life, maybe he could too…

oOoOoOo

**A/N: **My last chapter received a lot more feedback in the first two hours than the other two chapter received in ten days. I'm thinking it's because Astoria was finally introduced. Now that I have an idea of what you guys like, I'll try to incorporate a little more of it into the story.

I know that my author's notes are particularly long, but I wanted to share this little bit of trivia that I found while researching for this chapter. It is from an interview of JKR:

**Melissa: **What does it do to you to see a character that you love, for people to express sheer hate -

**Emerson: **Or vice versa.

**JKR**: It amuses me. It honestly amuses me. People have been waxing lyrical [in letters] about Draco Malfoy, and I think that's the only time when it stopped amusing me and started almost worrying me. I'm trying to clearly distinguish between Tom Felton, who is a good-looking young boy, and Draco, who, whatever he looks like, is not a nice man. It's a romantic, but unhealthy, and unfortunately all too common delusion of - delusion, there you go - of girls, and you [nods to Melissa] will know this, that they are going to change someone. And that persists through many women's lives, 'til their deathbed, and it is uncomfortable and unhealthy and it actually worried me a little bit, to see young girls swearing undying devotion to this really imperfect character, because there must be an element in there, that "I'd be the one who [changes him]." I mean, I understand the psychology of it, but it is pretty unhealthy. So, a couple of times I have written back, possibly quite sharply, saying [Laughter], "You want to rethink your priorities here."

My answer to that would be, "It's Tom Felton's fault for being so hot." xD

One more thing to add: I was on just now, and I stumbled upon a link leading me to Tom Felton's Youtube account. I wanted to share it with you guys. He's actually pretty talented. Granted, there are only four videos, but they're all really good.

http: // www . youtube . com / user / feltbeats just take away the spaces

I would like to thank:

**Starry Smiles **for reviewing last chapter. I actually thanked you in chapter 3, but for some reason, it didn't show up.

**sweet epiphany11 **for loving my story xD

**Angelpris** for telling me their opinion. I like your story. You really should continue.

**The Awesome Threesome** (one of them) for telling me what they liked about the story. I'm glad you like Draco's perspective on post-second war. This story is going to have more of that, so look forward to it.

**Heartsday **for reviewing. It's nice to be recognized for grammar as well as plot :-)

**Aspieturtle** for reviewing again. I will never forget the fact that you were my first reviewer :-D I'm really glad you like Astoria.

**emLILYEVANS** for reviewing all three chapters. I guess I found one faithful reviewer. By the way, I love your new profile. Who're MCR and A7X?

**Lady Grace of Masbolle** who not only betas my story, but reviews it as well xD

Feedback: 719 Hits to 15 Reviews

Written 2009 – 3 – 14

Published 2009 – 3 – 19


	5. Draco's Humiliation

The Model Son

~ Chapter Four: Draco's Humiliation ~

**Disclaimer: **Okay, I'm getting tired of this. I love Draco, and therefore, I get dibs. Besides, JKR doesn't even like him. So 'ha!' to all you fan-girls (and fan-boys… I know there are some out there :-P) who wanted him. He's MINE! That wasn't exactly a disclaimer, so once again, none of this belongs to me.

**Dedication:** To that guy who gave my friend a band-aid on the bus. Ahh… the kindness of Canadian strangers.

Large thanks to **Lady Grace of Masbolle**, who can always spot a proper name (is that supposed to be capitalized?) in a sentence.

_Last time… _

_Draco stumbled (literally) into Tori on his way to sneaking out of the party. She forces him to follow her into the ball, where he meets her father. Draco also meets Daphne, Tori's sister, and Theodore Nott at the ball._

It was nearing 11:00 PM, yet Draco wasn't even a little tired. Quite the opposite, actually, as he walked around the ball, Tori trailing him, meeting or reuniting with former colleagues and companions. Draco was excited too be back with all these people. This upper-class scene was more than just a place where he could show off his pure-blood pedigree; it was the only place where he was comfortable. He couldn't cope in any other position. It was in his blood.

Tori watched as Draco walked around, talking and laughing with the guests. He looked totally… comfortable… there was no other word for it. He looked like he _enjoyed_ talking to stuffy old codgers who think of themselves as Gods. Tori couldn't stand them. As Draco walked her to yet another group of old men, she stopped his progress.

"You actually like this?" Draco turned around to face Tori and gave her a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, and Tori snorted, which amused Draco. _She really should stop snorting like that. It doesn't become her. _

"I'm talking about the fact that you would voluntarily associate yourself with these… these… self-important gits, that's what I'm talking about," she finished with a smirk.

Now, Draco was offended. He looked up to these 'self-important gits' and he did _not_ appreciate her talking bad about them. His other personality, the one that he had broadcasted throughout his adolescence came back to him, and he opened his mouth to tell Tori exactly _where_ she could place those opinions of hers. The immediate picture of his father that popped up in his mind stopped him. _ I want to make Father proud, I want to make Father proud._ He recited this mantra as he faced Tori. He gave a small shrug, a sheepish smile and continued on his way to the group of men.

Tori gave an exasperated sigh, and went to follow him. She didn't really know why she was following him, other than the fact that she had nothing better to do. And later, her father couldn't give her a lecture about not being nice to the man. _Well, I'm not exactly being nice, am I? But then again, I can't help it if he's boring, can I? Funny… when I was talking to him in the closet, he seemed okay enough…_

oOoOoOo

The night went on, and after a while, Tori left Draco to his devices while she went to Daphne to spend time with her sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law. Draco was getting tired, and no wonder, as it was past 1:00 AM; most of the guests had already left. He decided that it was time to call it a night, and went in search of Tori and Daphne to bid them good night. As he turned a slow circle, a giggling group of people his age caught his eye. He saw Tori in the middle of the group, entertaining everyone, waving her arms around in animated gestures. He shook his head and smiled at her antics.

As he approached the group, Draco heard his name followed by a loud laugh from everyone there. He immediately felt uneasy. If there was anything he hated, it was people laughing at him. He quietly approached the group, and tried to hear what was going on. He hid behind a tall pillar supporting the balcony near the group, which hid him well. It wasn't hard to hear anything since the source of the noise, Tori, was making no effort to lower her voice. Currently she was laughing.

"No wait, wait, there's more!" the group of people stopped laughing and immediately focused on her. "He went over to this group of the most booooooring old codgers and he started talking to them," Draco saw Tori straighten her back so that it was ramrod straight, almost comically straight. She then stuck her nose up in the air, and her lips were pursed.

"Oh, hello, sir! Aren't you looking well today?! How have you been holding up, lately? Oh, I'm so glad!" she had said all of that with an odd nasally voice. The accent she had used was slightly familiar… it was the accent affected by high-class wizards, an accent affected by purebloods, an accent affected by… Draco. Draco froze as he figured out what she was doing. She was imitating him…

"He's such a killjoy! He finds talking to old people fun! No wonder his father tried to set him up with me. No girl would actually want to go out with him. Humph. No way am I going to marry him! I would die of boredom!" all this she said in her regular voice. The group around her laughed, all except for Theodore, Daphne and Blaise, who looked uncomfortable.

Behind the pillar, Draco was shocked into silence. He couldn't think, he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe. The only thing in his mind was Tori's voice. _"He's such a killjoy… booooooring old codgers… no girl would want to go out with him… no way am I going to marry him. _Draco shook his head, but it didn't help. He was still in shock, but slowly it turned into confusion. What had he done to deserve this? He hadn't been rude to her… throughout the whole evening, there had been no appearance of the old Draco. Nearby, he could hear more laughter as Tori continued.

Having had enough, Draco decided to let his presence be known. Most people would have just left the ball, but a Malfoy was taught to never run away from a confrontation. Draco thanked the lucky stars for his ability with Occlumency as he arranged his face into an indifferent mask. The face revealed nothing, while inside Draco was a raging storm of emotions. The only indication that something might be wrong was two flags of red high on his cheekbones. Promising himself to remain calm, Draco stepped out from behind the pillar, and cleared his throat.

No one noticed him immediately, save for those on the out-most ring of people, who immediately stopped laughing. Draco cleared his throat loudly and a hush fell upon the group. The group of people slowly parted to reveal Tori, Daphne, Theodore and Blaise, who all looked shocked to see him right there, most likely having heard everything. Daphne was the first to regain her composure.

"Draco… I- You shouldn't- I'm sorr-" Draco interrupted Daphne's stuttering.

"Actually, Daphne, I was just coming over to say goodbye. It's getting late, and I should go check up on my mother," that last part was false. His parents were probably already sleeping, but he needed a valid reason to go home, without making it seem like he was running away. "I wanted to tell you I had a wonderful time since you've all been so _kind _to me," As he said this, Draco knew he was going a bit overboard, but he couldn't help himself. "I'll see you all later then?" Draco looked around the group. Blaise and Theo looked like they wanted to say something, but Draco gave them a look, effectively silencing them. The rest of the group either looked extremely shocked or guilty. Most of the people were people he didn't know. He guessed they must have attended Beauxbatons.

"Tori, don't you have something to say to Draco?" Daphne asked in a falsely calm voice. Draco was sure she was only trying to make amends, but he didn't have enough will power to talk to Tori without blowing up. He risked a glance at her, finding her looking just slightly at unease. Marveling at her inability to feel guilty, Draco decided to take some action.

"No, I really do need to get going. I'm so glad I was given the chance to attend this lovely ball. I must be going now," with that, Draco gave everyone a mocking bow and left the group of friends. He could hear Blaise calling out to him, but he ignored the sound as he sought out Mr. Greengrass. Seeing him chatting with a group of men similarly imposing, Draco walked over. He realized too late that the group of men included that fat old man who had annoyed him earlier that evening.

Draco groaned. _What a perfect ending to a perfect day._ Bracing himself, he walked up to Mr. Greengrass, and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Mr. Greengrass, I thought that it was about time I headed out, so I wanted to thank you for having me here," _There. Short and sweet._

"It's quite all right son, I am happy that you were able to make it," he gave Draco a genuine smile, and Draco sighed. _It's almost over._ "Remember to tell your father about next week and have a safe trip home Draco," Mr. Greengrass shook his hand and Draco waited for rude old man to say something, but he remained quiet. Greatful for being spared the insults, Draco nodded to the men and headed to the waiting room.

In the waiting room, he found an attendant who handed him his traveling cloak and a pot of Floo powder. Walking over to the nearest fireplace, Draco threw a handful of the powder in and shouted "Malfoy Manor" into the flames. Stepping in, Draco felt the stiffness leave his body as he allowed himself to feel all that he had been hiding.

oOoOoOo

Draco arrived in the fireplace in his father's study and was surprised to see Lucius Malfoy sitting in one of the chairs facing the fire. Draco stepped out of the embers and waited for his father to welcome him home. When Lucius said nothing, Draco walked closer to find his father's eyes closed, and his chest rising and falling slowly. Lucius was asleep.

Watching his father, Draco felt a tug at his heart. It saddened him so much to see his father like this, almost to the point of pain. The once great man had been reduced to the shriveled man in front of him, a man who had no pride, no self-respect. Lucius refused to eat with the family anymore, preferring to stay in his study all day. He wouldn't look anyone in the eye, and though he wouldn't say, Draco knew he felt ashamed at letting down the family.

Sighing, Draco placed his hand on Lucius' shoulder and shook it slightly. "Father… Father wake up. You can't sleep here, father, you'll get a cold," Draco shook his father some more.

Lucius woke with a start. He sat up in the chair and looked around, until he found Draco staring at him. "Draco? Wh- What time is it?" he looked completely confused, and Draco hated it. The old Lucius would never have let anyone catch him so off guard.

"Father, it's almost 2 AM. I didn't think you wanted to sleep here, so I woke you up," Draco tried to speak as gently as possible, but he was getting angry. It wasn't just today, but every other day since Lucius had been back, that he had acted like this. Draco wished that sometimes, Lucius would stop being so distant from everyone. He understood how hard it was on his father, those few years in Azkaban, but it didn't give him the right to slack off.

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry Draco, for being such a hindrance, I really am. I was just so… so tired," Lucius looked ashamed, and Draco immediately felt guilty for his less than kind thoughts.

"It's all right, Father, I don't mind. But you really should get upstairs," Lucius nodded. Draco accompanied him upstairs to his parents' bedroom where he made sure that Lucius was tucked in well. Near his father, his mother slept fitfully, mumbling under her breath as she tossed and turned. Lucius paid no heed to this, as he had seen this many times before. At first, he had been shocked at the condition his wife had sunk to during his absence; but soon, he seemed to take it in stride. It was obvious to Draco that he blamed it upon himself but Draco could do nothing about it. Talking to him lead nowhere, as Lucius denied ever feeling that way.

Draco kissed his mother on the cheek, and was surprised when he heard her speak. "Draco? Hello, son. How was your night?" Draco was surprised that she even remembered where he went. Confronted with the dilemma of telling her the truth or sparing her the grief, Draco chose the latter.

"It was fi-fine, mother," he looked over at his father, wondering if he had noticed the catch in his voice but Lucius was already asleep.

"Ah… good, good. Did she treat you well? Was she nice to you, son?" Draco felt like crying at the questions. Although his mother only meant well, the words twisted the knife already embedded in his heart, deeper.

"Sh-She was very beautiful, mom," Draco tried to steer away from answering the question. Luckily, his mother was too tired to notice, and soon, she too was asleep. Draco kneeled by her side for a little while longer, watching her sleep. He missed talking to her. She used to be so vibrant, and she would make him laugh. Whenever he had a problem, she would know, and she would make him tell. Of course, that was all before the Dark Lord came back. He so wished that he had never returned. He would have been so happy.

Draco took his mother's hand and placed it on his head, moving it around, so that it mussed up his hair. The gesture was something his mother would have done if he was upset and although she wasn't doing it herself, it still calmed him knowing that it was her hand. He stayed that way for a while, just reminiscing in old times, while his parents slept.

Draco took some time to go over all that had happened today, and he couldn't understand Tori's little act. He had never been accused of being boring; quite the opposite, at school, really. He was known for being rather impulsive and bold, not boring! Sure, he was cold and reserved… after all he was the Slytherin Ice Prince. But he was never boring! Never!

Then again, he _had_ chosen to talk to the elderly men rather than men his age. Why wasn't he with that group surrounding Tori? Why? He knew why. Because he didn't care about what they were talking about. He would rather talk about the recent goblin upheaval than the hot girls his friends had last shagged. He would rather spend his time learning about something to improve his mind, than trash talk about who was wearing the most revealing outfits.

Draco snorted. _And I was saying I wasn't boring. That's the most boring thing that I have ever heard, and it came out of my own mouth._ He started to understand what Tori was getting at. He really wasn't the most fun guy to hang out with. Hell, he wouldn't even hang out with himself. The thing was, he hadn't always been this boring. That changed when his father was sent to Azkaban.

As soon as the huge burden of taking care of his family was placed upon his shoulders, Draco stopped visiting his friends. He stopped going club crawling and little by little, he lost many of his friends. The only one that remained was Blaise, whom he had known since he was a baby, and even him, Draco had shunned. It was a gradual process, but he slowly became a robot, living only to make his father proud. He stopped doing anything that would take him away from his duties. That included his friends, his female acquaintances and even his pets. He had donated his beloved eagle owl to Hogwarts, believing that it would be happier there, than if he had kept it in his dreary mansion. In short, he had become the model son.

All of a sudden, Draco remembered something that his mother had told him long ago. It was the day after he had attended a function held for important members of the society. Draco had met a boy his age at the event, and when he'd tried to make friends, the boy had shot him down. Draco still remembered the exact words the little boy had used. "_Why would I want to hang out with you? Do you have any idea of who I am? Of course you wouldn't. I'm a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself. And yet, you, a mere Malfoy, think you can be my friend. Ha!_" Draco was five at the time.

He had asked his mother about it. She had laughed a little, and placed him in her lap. Draco had loved it when she did that. It meant that he had all her attention, and she wasn't thinking about anything but him. It had made him feel special. Narcissa had told Draco that the boy wasn't actually a descendant of Slytherin. That had made Draco feel better, but what she said next had made his day.

She had told him, "From this incident, I want you to learn something Draco. There will be many people who will want to hurt you just like that little boy did. It's up to you to decide whether those words are worthy of being listened to or not. But know one thing: _aquila non capit muscam, _Draco. _An eagle doesn't catch flies._ Do you know what that means, Draco?" he had shook his head, and she had continued. "It means that noble people do not involve themselves in insignificant issues. I want you to forget about that boy. What he has done to you was insignificant. What does matter is that you are a very intelligent and kind young boy, and nothing anyone says can ever render than untrue," it wasn't the fanciest of mottos, but the young Draco had been in awe about his mother's wisdom.

Thinking about that saying now, and associating it with the events of that night made a certain few things clear to Draco. First of all, he was an idiot if he had let what Tori had said get to him. That thought evoked a flare of anger out of nowhere, directed at Tori._ Who is she, to tell me what I am and what I should be? He hadn't done anything wrong to her. He would live his life the way he wanted, and he wouldn't give a damn about what she thought._

Draco's thought process continued in that direction for quite a while, until he had worked himself into a frenzy. Mattie had come to check on him in his parents' bedroom, worried that he hadn't been back by now, but she left him alone when she saw him kneeling by his mother's side. Draco hadn't noticed. By the time he had dragged himself up off the floor of the bedroom, he had convinced himself that none of what Tori had said that night was true.

By the time he had changed into his customary silk pajama bottoms and no top, he had convinced himself that Tori was the one to blame, if she thought that his life was boring.

By the time he had brushed his teeth, he had convinced himself that Tori was the most wretched, belittling, annoying girl he had ever had the misfortune to meet.

By the time he had tucked himself in, he had a mental picture of Tori in his mind, but he had changed a few things. The Tori in his mind had a mustache, side burns and a few warts. _She is one ugly fly!_

However, the last thing Draco saw as he drifted off to sleep wasn't a decapitated picture of Tori. It was of Tori laughing and smiling with him in the closet. The last coherent thought he had was of how beautiful that twinkle in her eye was.

oOoOoOo

**A/N:** Uh oh. Tori's screwed up really bad, didn't she? You can hate me if you want. But if you don't review, I'll make sure that they never get together. Mwahaha.

One thing you should know is that I'm not an author writing just so I can get reviews, and be praised all the time. I actually want reviews where people tell me what's wrong with something, so I can make the story better. But if you don't want to review, that's alright too… I'm just glad you're along for the ride.

**emLILYEVANS**, thank you very much for your faithful reviews. If you have the time, could you please tell me what you liked about this chapter, or didn't like, and what you'd like to see more of? It would help me make the story better.

**Sweet Epiphany**, I still don't understand why that Dumbledore bit was evil. I'm actually really curious. Although, thank you for your review. P.S. On his website, he says that his favourite song is "If You Could Be Anywhere"… mine too xD

**jn.v13**, I'm glad that there's more interest in the Draco/Astoria pairing. I really do like this couple, because there's so much possibility with them. You should try including them in your own fictions. You know, have Rose visit Scorpius' house, and meet Astoria and Draco. I'd like to see your take on the couple. :-)

Written 2009 – 3 – 17

Published 2009 – 3 – 27


	6. Arse Biting

The Model Son

~ Chapter Five: Arse Biting ~

**Me**: Don't own anything… not even a certain _someone…_

**Fred Weasley**: _NEVERRRRR!!!!!_

I've always wanted to have that kind of disclaimer, since it's so childish. I like childish things… *coughFredcough*.

**Fred Weasley: **_I TOLD YOU, NO!_

**Dedication:** Dedicated to websites such as the Harry Potter Lexicon and Harry Potter Wiki that proved to be great research sites. You have no idea how much information some of these sites have… it's rather scary actually, to see how into it these people are.

----------------------------------------

_Last time…_

_Draco leaves the ball after being humiliated publicly by Tori. He goes home in a bad mood to his father, who he helps into bed. After a lot of thinking, Draco convinces himself that Tori's a horrible person._

----------------------------------------

It had been a week since the incident at the ball. The only problem that had risen during those seven days had happened the day after the ball. Draco still cringed every time he thought about it. He had had to tell his father about what had happened. He didn't dare tell his mother, for fear of upsetting her. His father had taken the news surprisingly well, but Draco still felt horrible for letting him down. He had done that so many times in his life that sometimes, it wasn't worth it to hear his father's praise about something he _did_ do well.

Determined to make it up to his father, Draco had tried madly to find a job. He had tried everywhere. Gringotts, where the goblins had scoffed at him, and kicked him out. St. Mungo's, where they had told him that he didn't have the right training. The Knight Bus, where the driver had taken one look at his attire and rather pampered appearance and told him, "you can't handle it, laddie." At the Leaky Cauldron, the patron, Tom, had horrified him with tales of dishwashing and cleaning up vomit. Draco had even asked to be a dragon keeper in Romania, but during his visit there, a certain Hungarian Horntail decided that it wanted his hair. Draco was rather fond of his hair, and he wasn't about to lose it to a dragon.

Finally, Draco had decided that he should at least try to become an auror. He had gotten an 'O' for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration and Potions, which guaranteed that he was properly equipped for the job. However, Draco had been previously reluctant to try out for the job, fearing that his association with the Dark Lord would hinder his chance of being recruited. Now, seeing as he had no other choice, he decided to give it a try. If he didn't make it, he could always write for the Daily Prophet, or become a teacher at Hogwarts.

And so, Draco had set up an interview with the Head Auror. He didn't know much about the man, since his secretary was the one that had set up the arrangement. Interestingly enough, the secretary hadn't even asked for his name. Just for his qualifications. Draco had wondered about it for a while. He reckoned that they must be really desperate for new recruits, meaning that there was a large chance of him getting the job.

oOoOoOo

It was the Saturday of his interview, and Draco was nervous. He once again stood in front of his full length mirror, and Mattie was behind him, putting his unused clothes away. Unlike the ball, Draco had opted to wear dress robes for the interview. He wore robes of the darkest black and a cloak of the same colour. Both had silver lining at the collar, cuffs and hem. The cloak bore the Malfoy Coat of Arms of which the main feature was an albino peacock. The emblem was sewn into the left breast of the cloak. Draco wore it to show that he was proud of his heritage, and he wasn't going to work for someone who would hate him for it. This way, he wouldn't be giving any false impressions.

Although it couldn't be seen from the outside, Draco also wore dark grey dress pants underneath the robes. They prevented uncomfortable breezes where he didn't want them. Truthfully, Draco hated robes, and that was evident as he fiddled with the sleeve-openings, which were fashionably large and trailed nearly to his knee. _Annoying things… muggle clothes are so much more convenient._ Mattie watched him nearly rip the sleeves, trying to adjust them so that he wouldn't trip over them. She walked over to him, took a hold of one of the sleeves and charmed it into shrinking. Now, the sleeve was a reasonable size.

"Is this better, Young Master sir?" Draco blushed at his stupidity, and nodded. Mattie fixed the other sleeve and stepped back to take in her master. "You look very handsome, Young Master sir," Draco laughed and thanked her.

"Young Master sir, if Young Master does not mind, can Mattie give you something?" Mattie snapped her fingers, and a small vial appeared in her hand.

"What is that Mattie?" Mattie handed him the vial and Draco inspected the liquid inside the vial. It was a nice gold colour, and at irregular intervals, little amounts of the liquid would leap back and forth inside the vial. Draco brought the vial up to his nose and took a cautious sniff. The liquid was odourless.

"It's Felix Felishiz, Young Master sir!" Mattie said excitedly. Draco smiled amusedly at her.

"Do you mean Felix Felicis, Mattie?" Mattie nodded excitedly, not at all deterred by Draco's obvious amusement. Draco looked back down at the liquid, with awe. The last time he had seen any of the liquid was in his sixth year at Hogwarts, in Professor Slughorn's class. He had desperately wanted to win that vial, but of course, it had gone to Harry Potter. Draco smiled at Mattie, but as a new thought occurred to him, the smile quickly turned into a frown.

"Mattie, do you mean for me to take this for my interview?"

"Yes, Young Master sir. If Young Master is extra lucky, Young Master can easily become auror, sir!"

"Isn't it illegal, Mattie?" Draco didn't like the idea of walking into the interview, only to be thrown out for trying to cheat.

"No, Young Master sir. Felix Felishiz is illegal to be used for examinashions, sports events and elecshions. 'Tis an ordinary day, and the only difference is Young Master sir have an interview. Mattie checked with Mattie's cousin, who serves for Kingsley Shacklebolt. Young Master sir need not worry," Mattie really wanted Draco to use the liquid luck. She had seen him come home every day that week at midnight, after going around the country looking for a job. Every time, he had been unable to keep his eyes open, he was so tired. He had worked hard, and he deserved the job.

"Mattie, can I ask how and why you have Felix Felicis?" Draco didn't think his house had any, or else he wouldn't have been so desperate to win some in his sixth year.

"No, Young Master sir, you may not ask," Mattie said cheekily. She went back to folding up his other robes. She wouldn't look him in the eye, and Draco knew she was hiding something.

"Mattie… you didn't steal it, did you?" cheating with liquid luck was one thing, but stealing that liquid luck was another matter all together.

"Of course not, Young Master sir! It… it was a pr-present for Mattie," she'd gone an odd colour that Draco had never seen on a house elf. It was like a darker tone of her skin colour…

"Mattie, are you _blushing_?" Draco had to try hard not to burst out laughing.

"N-no, Young Master sir! The Felix Felishiz was from S-Salus. It was Mattie's birthday present," Draco remembered Salus, the male house elf that served his father, but he had never thought of him and Mattie as being together. Actually, he had never thought of any house elves as being together.

"Ooooooh… I see…" Draco said this in an overly understanding voice, finishing off with a wink.

"Young Master sir!" she had squeaked this last part out, and that odd blush covered her whole face. Draco laughed, and apologized to her, but the little wink he added belied the sincerity of the apology. Mattie was about to burst, so he stopped his teasing and changed the subject.

"All right, Mattie. Thank you very much for this. I'll make sure to take it before I go into the interview," Draco still felt uneasy about using it, but he reasoned that if Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic's own house elf said it was fine, then it would be.

After bidding Mattie a goodbye, Draco made his way downstairs to the parlor, where his father was also on his way out. With a start, Draco remembered that today was the day of Mr. Greengrass' get-together, and it would seem that his father would be attending.

"Hello, father. I hope you have a good time today. Don't forget to eat well," his father sometimes needed to be reminded that he needed to eat. It wasn't the healthiest of quirks to have.

"Oh, hello Draco. Yes, thank you. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors," Lucius seemed a little out of it as he said this, and Draco knew why. Ever since Draco had told him that he had been invited to the event, Lucius had been elated. This was what he had been waiting for all this time. To be included in society once again, to be able to have some influence over the world again… to have friends again. Draco didn't know who was happier; his father, or himself. He was finally seeing his father talk again, eat again, and laugh again.

With those happy thoughts in mind, Draco walked with his father till they were outside of the Malfoy estate. Once outside, they both apparated to their separate destinations.

oOoOoOo

Draco was currently outside the dilapidated phone booth that served as the visitor's entrance for the Ministry of Magic. Lucius had explained all the procedures of getting into the building to Draco, so he knew what to do, but looking at the skeleton-cage, Draco wasn't so sure anymore. Swallowing his fear, Draco entered the booth, and found a rather confusing object attached to the wall opposite the door. It seemed to be a large rectangular box with odd little holes in random places, and a numerical pad. A cylindrical object with indentations to make it look rather like a banana was attached to the box by a curled rope.

Recalling what his father had said, Draco walked closer to the item, and picked up the banana in one hand. He found the number pad on the black box and typed in 6-2-4-4-2 ("M-A-G-I-C") and held the banana to his ear. After a few moments, a cool female voice interrupted the silence, and Draco realized that he was holding the banana for no reason, as the voice came out of thin air.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and purpose," the voice continued.

"Draco Malfoy. I'm here for an interview with the Head Auror," he had said that with more confidence than he felt. He waited a few seconds before he heard a clinking sound coming from within the box. Draco searched for the source of the sound, and found a slot with a circular object in it. He picked up the galleon-sized object, and saw that it was a badge. The silver badge was adorned with his name and the words "Department of Law Enforcement: Auror Headquarters". Draco pinned the badge onto the front of his robes, near the Malfoy Coat of Arms. He was startled when the booth began moving underground and he slowly descended.

oOoOoOo

A minute later, the elevator-booth had arrived at the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Draco was in awe. The only other times he had been here was when he was a child, and his father had taken him along to important meetings. It hadn't changed drastically, from what he remembered. The magnificent golden fountain that had once adorned the atrium had been replaced. The new Fountain of the Magical Brethren portrayed the same witch, wizard, centaur, goblin and house elf, but their positions had been changed.

The wizard now had his arm over the centaur's shoulders in a gesture of camaraderie. The witch was squatting next to the goblin and house elf, holding their hands. All of them were laughing. This fountain was much larger, and much more magnificent, as the statues were adorned with jeweled eyes and the like. Draco knew that the Wizarding world hadn't actually changed that drastically but the fact that it wasn't as degrading as before was something, at least. Things really had changed since Shacklebolt had come into office.

Draco marveled at the rest of the atrium, which as far as he knew, hadn't changed much. The ceiling was still that beautiful blue, decorated with golden symbols that moved around. On either side of the atrium were rows and rows of fireplaces, where Draco would be leaving from at the end of the day.

Draco walked over to the check-in desk near the other side of the atrium, to the golden gates. Seeing as it was nearing lunchtime, not many people were out and about in the Ministry, so he was able to check in right away. He handed the receptionist his wand, who weighed and measured it. Draco had had to get a new wand after he had lost his in the Last Battle. He didn't mind terribly, as his new wand was much more responsive than his old wand had been. His new wand was still made of hawthorn, but it was 11'' instead of the original 10''. The hair was from a unicorn's tail as well, but unlike the old wand, this new wand wasn't flexible at all. _I never did figure out why that was… _

"All right, Mr. Malfoy. Please step over here," The brown-haired receptionist stepped out from behind her desk and approached Draco with a secrecy sensor, which she passed up and down Draco's front and back. After she was satisfied, she led Draco back to the desk, where he was given his wand. "You're appointment is scheduled for 12:00 PM on Level 2. Good luck," Draco smiled at the receptionist, and walked through the golden gates, towards the lifts.

Half way there, he felt something in his hand. He looked down to find a small piece of parchment rolled around his wand. He carefully slid it off his wand, and unrolled it. The parchment had a name, and a floo address. Draco was so shocked, he almost tripped on his own two feet. He shot a quick glance back at the receptionist. She was eying him, and when she saw him watching her, she winked. Draco flushed and quickly turned away. He was unused to having girls flirt with him, never mind give him their addresses. Back at school, everyone but Pansy had been afraid of him, and even though Draco thought he might like Pansy, that had disappeared as soon as he discovered how clingy she was. After Hogwarts, he had never had the chance to see girls… he was a very inexperienced man.

Pushing those distracting thoughts away, Draco stepped into the lift, and pressed Level 2. He looked around the lift, but his only companions were bright pink paper airplanes, charmed to levitate. As a young boy, Draco had once tried to catch one of them, but quickly stopped when the thing stabbed him on the hand with its pointed part. The lift ascended, and the smooth female voice was heard again.

"Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports: British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club and Ludicrous Patents Office," One of the fluorescent pink airplanes flew out of the lift, and Draco caught sight of tattered quidditch posters covering the walls of the messy hallway leading away from the lift. The lift ascended once more.

"Level Six, Department of Magical Transportation: Apparition Test Center, Broom Regularity Control, Floo Network Authority and Portkey Office," Draco had to duck slightly as another airplane zoomed at him, into the lift. _Those things have it in for me_. A wizard stepped into the lift after the plane, and Draco nodded politely at him. The nod wasn't returned. Draco wasn't surprised… knowing the Malfoy reputation, Draco knew that the other man didn't like or trust him. It didn't really matter, since Draco didn't know the man.

"Level Five, Department of International Magical Cooperation: International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats, International Magical Office of Law and International Magical Trading Standards Body," Draco met with the face of Percy Weasley as the doors of the lift opened. After an awkward split-second silence, Percy stepped into the lift.

"Hello, Basil," the other man in the lift nodded at Percy. Draco waited for some sort of acknowledgement from Percy, but he received none. He tried to ignore the small sting of pain that caused him. He had never liked him anyway. _The persnickety twit._ Draco was so lost in his musings that he missed the next floor.

"Level Three, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes: Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters and Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee," On this floor, numerous airplanes flew into the lift. Draco smirked. _Looks like some underage kid did something._ Seeing him smirk, Percy sent him a dirty look. Once Percy had turned back to face the lift doors, Draco resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at him.

"Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement: Auror Headquarters, Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office and Wizengamot Administration Services," Draco and the other men stepped out of the lift and as the lift doors closed behind them, Draco was once again met with a Weasley. This time, it was Arthur Weasley, who Percy Weasley went to stand next to. Not wanting to create a scene, Draco nodded and smiled politely before he walked off in the direction of the Auror Headquarters. Had he turned around, he would have seen a very shocked father and son.

The Auror Headquarters was a large room, with little cubicles that separated the 'offices' from each other. In one corner of the large room was a large cubicle, where Draco assumed the Head of Auror worked. He looked around, hoping for someone to help him, but seeing no one, Draco just walked over to the cubicle. He stood outside the door, not knowing whether he should knock, or call out. Fortunately, a young witch chose to walk out of her cubicle at that moment and caught sight of him. She walked over to him.

"Can I help you, sir?" Draco smiled at her before he spoke. It was best to make acquaintances with as many people as possible, and this young lady seemed nice enough. She had come to help him, hadn't she? Then again, she probably didn't know who he was… otherwise, she wouldn't have said a word.

"Yes, actually. I have an appointment with the Head of Aurors, and I don't know where his office is," He felt incredibly stupid. Had he not talked to the secretary? He should have asked her where the office was. Damn._ Well, it can't be helped now._

The girl shot him an odd look, and Draco swallowed nervously. "Do you know who the Head of Auror is, sir?" Draco didn't know what that had to do with anything, but he answered anyway.

"No, not really," Draco felt even more stupid, and he shot her a sheepish smile.

The girl grinned, and Draco knew that she didn't think him stupid. "All right then. Um, the Head's actually gone out for a bit on an errand. Don't worry though," she added, seeing Draco's dejected face. "He's still in the building; he just had to talk to the Minister. He'll be back in a moment. Just go in, Eileen's in there. She'll tell you what to do," the girl pushed the cubicle door, which consisted of a curtain hanging to provide some sense of privacy, open, and gestured for Draco to go in.

Draco stepped into the cubicle, and was confronted by a rather comical sight. There were two desks in the cubicle. One desk was impeccably neat and everything on it seemed to have a purpose. The other desk was a complete mess, covered in candy wrappers, ink spills and balled up pieces of parchments. Draco noted a photo frame on the desk, which had been overturned onto its face by a stack of books perched precariously.

"Hello, you must be Draco Malfoy. I'm the Head's secretary; we talked over the floo," an elderly woman stood from the clean desk and walked over to Draco. She shook his hand, and upon seeing him glance at the messy desk once again, she laughed. "Yes, I know. I've asked him over and over if I could clean it up, but he's adamant that it remains the way it is. He likes it this way," she shook her head, and by her indulgent smile, Draco gathered that she was fond of the Head. _Come to think of it, that other girl had seemed fond of him too. He must be a nice bloke, then._

"Would you like anything to drink?" The secretary seemed to be curious about this new, quiet man. She knew full well who he was, and what his family had done, but Eileen was a kind woman, and she wasn't going to judge the man before she had met him.

"I'd like some tea, please," He didn't actually want any tea, but once she was gone, he would have some time to get himself together for the interview, without having an audience.

"All right then. I'll be right back. You just sit yourself down over there, and make yourself comfortable," she left the cubicle, and Draco sat down on one of the chairs facing the Head's desk. _Head… doesn't anyone call him by his given name?_ Draco took out the vial from an inside pocket of his robe. He looked at the vial for a moment. _Ah, what the heck. It can't do any harm._ He quickly drank two small mouthfuls. He had finished about a quarter of the vial. He figured that unless the interview was going to be twelve hours long, he wouldn't need all of it.

As soon as he finished the last mouthful, he immediately felt a change in his attitude. He was infinitely more comfortable than before. He was confident. It felt like he knew exactly what to do. He felt incredibly optimistic, and when he thought about the coming interview, he felt that not only would he get the job, he'd get it _easily._

Draco heard the sound of footsteps outside the cubicle and a voice in his head told him that it would be best if he put the vial away. But that same voice told him to put the vial not in his inner pockets, but in an outer pocket. His old self told him that the vial could easily fall out of that pocket, but Draco listened to the new voice. Just as he had put it away, the curtain swung open to reveal the Head of Aurors.

Draco knew he should be afraid. He knew he _should_ be, but he _wasn't_, thanks to the potion. He knew the Head of Aurors. Knew him personally. He had spent his entire childhood, thinking of ways to make the man in front of him miserable. And now, all of that was coming back to bite him in the arse.

"Malfoy?!" came the voice of an absolutely bewildered Harry Potter.

oOoOoOo

**A/N: **Dun dun dun…. xD I've always wanted to say that. Sorry about the cliff-hanger (not really).

For anyone who cares… Mattie = Matrix (Latin for mother) and Salus = Latin for helper. I use a lot of Latin in this story because it goes with the whole pureblood thing.

**Important: **I just realized that I haven't enabled anonymous reviews. I am so sorry! If anyone can tell me how to enable them, I'd be glad to do it right away. Please and thank you!

Feedback:

1439 Hits to 21 Reviews (WOW!)

Written 2009 – 3- 17

Published 2009 – 4 – 10 (Hannah Montana the movie is coming out today. I am going to go watch just so I could laugh at Disney's corniness)

Written 2009 – 3- 17

Published 2009 – 4 – 10 (Hannah Montana the movie is coming out today. I am going to go watch just so I could laugh at Disney's corniness)

**jn v13: **Aha, I just love reading your reviews. The thing about my writing is that I go with the flow, so half the time I don't know if I'm doing something good or bad. So when I hear people tell me about "post-war" and "past events", I'm like... really now? I didn't know that! xD

**emLILYEVANS: **Once again, so sorry, but no craziness just yet. Though, that idea seems incredibly entertaining. Care to do a one shot? It can be your first story, and since it's a one shot, you won't be pressured to continue... unless _someone_ _*cough_me_cough*_ forces you too. :-D

**OurLoveIsForever:** I am looking forward to the next chapter. And I have to say, I totally want Nott and Astoria to end up together... Draco is a total ass. xD But it doesn't work that way, I know... *sigh*

**Sweet Epiphany:** It is amazing, isn't it? I just love the harmonica part, and the way he plays, it's so adorable! xD *fangirl scream*


	7. Unwanted Recruit

The Model Son

~ Chapter Six: Unwanted Recruit ~

**Disclaimer:** Umm… I can't think of anything clever or funny, so I'll just say that I don't own Harry Potter. (But I do own Draco… mwahaha… only joking). Oh, and I don't own the riddle, either.

**Dedication:** This is dedicated to myself, because I want this chapter under my name :-D I'm so selfish xD

Huge thanks to **Angelpris** for beta-ing my chapter last minute.

**Important: ANONYMOUS REVIEWS ARE NOW ENABLED!**

-----------------------------------------

_Last time…_

_Draco went to the Ministry of Magic, hoping to become an Auror. He goes into the Head Auror's office, waiting for the Head Auror to appear. When the Head returns, Draco learns that the Head is actually Harry Potter._

-----------------------------------------

Harry Potter stared at the man in front of him, who had gotten up from his seat. His mouth had dropped open in surprise and he tried very hard to close it again. Draco Malfoy, in the flesh, was sitting at Harry Potter's desk. It was something Harry could not comprehend. Harry examined Draco's appearance carefully, picking out everything that had changed about the boy. After a few moments of deliberation, Harry decided that Draco looked like shit.

The once snobby face had filled out a bit, and the pointed nose and chin had widened into the face of a man. Frankly, it was the only positive change to have happened to Malfoy in the five years they hadn't seen each other. He still looked handsome and Harry was comfortable enough in his masculinity to admit that, but to anyone who had known him before the war, it was obvious that the man's looks had declined.

Draco's robes were immaculate as always, but the body underneath was deprived of nutrition. His ribs were visible through his robes as bumps all along his torso. His hair was still that shocking platinum that was envied by many women, and some men, but it was matted and limp. Harry could even detect a few gray hairs, which definitely did not belong on a twenty-two-year-old head. Harry could see the other man's wrist, and they looked weak enough to snap.

Draco stood up to greet Harry, and Harry could really appreciate how skinny the man had become. The body that had once been vital and strong from quidditch had turned into a skeleton, and he looked like he could barely hold his body up. The robes hung off his frame, dwarfing him and making him look even skinnier. His skin looked like paper, and his eyes had bags underneath. Harry couldn't get over the shock of seeing this man, once so powerful, now a mere compilation of bones. Unlike Harry, who's mouth was still open, Draco was the epitome of calm as he stood and watched his former school rival battle for composure. Finally, Harry closed his mouth, and took a step forward.

"What a pleasant surprise. I didn't know you were the Head of Aurors," Draco said this with such politeness, that Harry couldn't doubt his sincerity. Harry walked to behind his desk and took a seat, gesturing for Draco to do the same. For a while, the two just sat and stared at each other. Draco's calm façade revealed nothing, but inside, there was a torrent of emotions caused by the battle between knowing what the smart thing to do was, and what Felix wanted him to do.

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted when the curtain of the cubicle was flung aside, and three people walked into the cubicle without any warning. The normal Draco would have jumped up and taken his wand out, but Felix Draco remained seated.

"Oi, Harry! Mum wants everyone over no-" The obnoxious voice annoyed Draco, but he refrained from sneering. Instead, he turned in his chair to face Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Old reflexes almost caused Draco to shudder at the sight of the muggleborn, but thankfully, Felix kept him from doing anything stupid. He had never had anything against Granger, but of course, his cronies expected him to torture the poor girl for her entire school career, and he had shamelessly obliged. How he regretted it now. If her hatred of him proved to be the reason for his not getting the job, then he would have no one to blame but himself.

"Malfoy! What the bloody hell are you doing here? Harry, why haven't you kicked this… this _ferret_ out yet?" Of course, the most thickheaded Weasley of the lot had an immediate opinion. Unlike the other peers he had bullied, Draco really did dislike Ron Weasley. He didn't _hate_ the youngest male Weasley, but he found him absolutely irritating. It probably had to do with the fact that Ron had ruined his first day of Hogwarts by becoming Harry Potter's friend while Draco had been rejected by the same boy.

"Ron! _Behave!_" The ever-reasonable voice of Hermione Granger interrupted the Weasel King's tirade. "Hello, Malfoy. I didn't know you and Harry were meeting," _At least she's being civil._ Draco was grateful for a pacifier in the midst of what was soon to become a battleground.

"Actually, Ms. Granger, I'm here for an interview," Hermione looked shocked that he hadn't called her a filthy mudblood. Draco smiled at her, which just shocked her more. Ginny Weasley, beside her, looked very amused.

"Interview? What interview? Merlin, you're not trying to become an Auror, are you?" Ron broke into gasping fits of laughter, while Harry looked slightly uncomfortable. Draco merely watched Ron, waiting for him to stop. Right then, Eileen walked in, carrying a tea tray, which oddly enough, had an envelope next to the tea things.

"Here you are, Mr. Malfoy. Harry dear, you've received an owl," while Harry opened the letter, Draco took a sip of the tea, still watching Ron, whose laughing fits had calmed down somewhat. Eileen said hello to the others and sat herself down at her desk, and started filing things in the cabinet behind her.

"Actually, Weasley, I _would_ like to become an Auror," Draco normally would have told Ron off for barging in, but Felix told him not to. Meanwhile, Harry had put the letter away, having read it, and he gave Draco his full attention. Draco put the tea cup down, and gave Harry his full attention as well. Suddenly, all was quiet and everyone, even Eileen, focused on Harry.

"I… I'm sorry, Malfoy, but I don't think I can recruit you. It's nothing personal, truly it isn't, but your past… you have to understand, it would cause issues. Many of my men," at Hermione's throat clearing, Harry corrected himself, "and women, have had bad experiences with Voldemort's followers, and having the son of a convicted Death Eater in the office isn't going to cut it with some people," Harry looked extremely uncomfortable. It was obvious that this was the one part of being Head of Aurors that he didn't like. Draco felt like finding a hole, crawling into it, and dying. He looked around at the office, and everyone looked rather uncomfortable. Everyone except Ron of course, who was gloating.

Draco would have argued… begged even for the job, but Felix told him that he should just get up and leave. "All right then, thank you for your time, and I'm sorry if I caused any trouble. Thank you Eileen, for the tea," with that Draco got up and turned towards the door. He had taken two steps, when a small clinking stopped his progress. He looked down to find that the vial had fallen out of his pocket. He was about to bend down and pick it up, but something told him that it would be better if he let it go.

The vial rolled and rolled, its progress watched by everyone in the room, until it came to a rest at Harry's feet. Harry picked up the vial, and examined the liquid in it. His eyes widened as realization came over him, and he turned to look at Draco with an unbelieving expression. "Malfoy… is this what I think this is?"

Draco was stuck with the dilemma of whether he should answer or not. The voice in his head, Felix Felicis, spoke up.

_**Well, go on… tell him the truth.**_

_No! What if it's illegal? He's the Head of Aurors! He can arrest me!_

_**Yeah, but this is Harry Potter. He's known to have a bit more compassion than that!**_

"Yes… it's Felix Felicis," There was a collective gasp in the room as everyone looked at the vial in Harry's hand with awe. Draco waited with bated breath for their reactions. He'd already been refused the job, so nothing could make the day worse.

"And would I be correct in assuming that you took some of it before the interview?" Harry's eyes were boring into Draco.

"Yes, you'd be correct," Draco felt like slapping himself. The Felix in him wasn't enough to quell the smaller, but existent, voice of common sense at the back of his head.

Harry meanwhile, was watching Draco carefully. He remembered sixth year very well, and the effort Draco had put in, trying to win that small vial from Professor Slughorn, and now, to see him use half a vial for a mere interview, changed his perspective. He was about to speak up, when Ron interrupted.

"Isn't that illegal? Malfoy, you broke the law! Excellent! Harry, what are you waiting for? Arrest him!" Harry shot him a look, but Hermione beat him to it.

"No, Ron. Using Felix Felicis for an interview hasn't been declared illegal. It's probably not approved of, but the Ministry didn't think anyone would waste any on a mere interview."

"Malfoy, sit back down. I need to talk to you some more," Harry ordered. He had to rethink some things. Draco obeyed silently, and sat back down. After a tense moment, Harry asked a question that caught Draco completely off guard. "Malfoy, why do you want this job so bad?"

Draco was dumbfounded. He didn't expect a question like _that._ He didn't know what to do… how to answer. It was obvious that Harry knew he was desperate… the man probably thought Draco had concocted the potion himself.

_Help! What do I tell him?_

_**Tell him the truth. It's not going to hurt.**_

_But… they'll pity me!_ Draco could put up with almost anything, but not sympathy. If he was pathetic enough to be pitied, his father had once told him, then his life wasn't worth anything.

Draco sighed, and obeyed the persistent voice of Felix. He twiddled his thumbs for a moment, thinking of the correct way to say it. When he couldn't find any, he just jumped into it.

"My family… we're not doing so well right now. I'm sure you've heard. Hell, the only way you couldn't have heard was if you didn't have ears. No one wants to associate themselves with the Malfoys anymore. It was really bad for the first two years… and Mother… she- she didn't take it so well. Of course, now… I- we… we can go out now, and it's not so bad as before. Before, people… some of them even spat at us. But now, it's gotten better. Mother's still sick though. She won't leave her room, and I really, really need to make her better. I figured… I thought that if I maybe got a respectable enough job, people would treat us better. Then maybe… Mother would get better."

When he stopped, there was dead silence in the room. Everyone was shocked. Rarely in their lives had they ever seen Draco so inarticulate. Moreover, he had _never_ admitted to something that would make him look bad. Yet here he was now, sitting in front of Harry Potter, having spilled his guts out. Hermione was the first to recover, and she tried to say something,

"I… I'm so sorry, Draco. I- We never knew," she looked pointedly at Ron, who steadfastly avoided her gaze.

"No," the softly spoken word from Draco was filled with many emotions: fear, hate… shame.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I don't want your pity. Just tell me if I can get the fucking job or not. If I can't, then let me leave. And none of you better tell anyone about any of this." Draco's eyes penetrated into everyone else's. The stormy gray of his eyes belied his calm demeanor. Harry cleared his throat, but when he next spoke, his voice was still hoarse.

"Show me your résumé, Malfoy." Draco looked at him in shock. He hadn't actually expected his little speech to change anyone's mind. Recovering fast, Draco reached into his coat pocket and retrieved small pieces of parchment, barely the size of his palm. He _engorgio'_ed them, and handed it over to Harry.

There was silence in the room once more, as Harry leafed through the papers. At one point, he let out a low whistle and looked up at Draco. "You got 'Outstanding's in Transfiguration, Potions, Charms _and _DADA?" At Draco's nod, he continued. "What did you get an E in?"

"Arithmancy," he replied shortly. He had never been good with numbers, and his father hadn't been too happy with that, but he had come to accept it.

"I see…" all of a sudden, Harry took out his wand and shot a leg-locker jinx at Draco; Hermione let out a squeak. Everyone looked at Draco, to see what happened, only to find him looking calmly back at Harry, a translucent bubble covering him.

"I see… Malfoy, answer this riddle:

Your Headmaster had me, when he was young and free  
Years later, he had me a second time around  
You can have just one, but numerous are we  
If I am the wrong one, I can end up on the ground  
If you ask me if I am small, my response would be "yup"  
Be very wary, for I could make you puke  
I am so tiny, many of me can fit in just one cup  
If you want to find me, you can start at Honeydukes  
What am I?" Harry finished the riddle, his face somber.

"You can't be serious!" Draco confirmed that his worst fears had turned true. Harry Potter, upon who the whole Wizarding world had placed their trust, had gone absolutely loony.

"I'm deadly serious, Malfoy. Answer it," Harry waited, and Hermione giggled. Draco turned to her, and she smiled at him knowingly. Apparently, she'd already figured it out. Draco thought carefully. He could remember most of the words, and that Honeydukes statement had been a dead give away. He felt foolish for even saying it, but the liquid luck told him that he was right.

"You're a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean… right?" Ron, beside him, snorted, thinking him wrong.

"Yes, that's correct." Ron choked and Ginny laughed. "Well then, Malfoy. You start training next week. Your training will last three years, and I'm sure you know the procedure, so I won't bore you with it. Let me just ale-" Harry was interrupted, once again, by Ron.

"Wait, Harry… you're recruiting him?! Are you mad?! He's a Death Eater! He has the Dark Mark!" Ron had turned a bright red.

"Actually Weasley, the mark disappeared when Old Voldey snuffed it," Draco lifted up his left sleeve, and showed a pale and unmarked arm to everyone in the room. Normally, he wouldn't have dared said the dead man's name out loud… Draco was still afraid of him, from months of torture at his hands. However, the liquid luck was doing strange things to him. Ron looked shocked at his hands, and furled his eyebrows, unable to think of any other reason to persuade Harry.

"All right then, that's settled. I'll just alert Nott, and we can be on our way," Harry nodded to Eileen, who had been listening in, and she walked out of the cubicle in search of Nott.

"Hold on… Nott… do you mean Theodore Nott?" Draco was extremely surprised. Nott hadn't said anything about working for the Ministry at the ball.

"Yes, it's him. He's the auror trainer." Harry evaluated Draco for a moment, and Draco noticed for the first time that he had gotten new glasses. These ones were still black-rimmed, but they had a rectangular shape to them. The eyes behind them were as green and alert as always. "Any questions, Malfoy?"

"Yes, two. First, why did you recruit me? And don't tell me because of my grades, because I know full well that there are many people with similar results," Draco was truly curious. Granted, knowing the reason wouldn't change anything, but it was nice to know, all the same.

"Well, first of all, I just received a letter from a certain Mr. Greengrass, who claims to know you personally. He has told me that you acted very responsibly and respectfully at the ball he held, and that you deserved the job. I trust Mr. Greengrass very much, and I trust his opinions of you. Next, your reaction to my jinx impressed me, and you answered the riddle without any fuss. And lastly, I owe my life to your mother," Harry admitted.

Draco's eyes widened, and Harry continued, "If she hadn't told Voldemort that I was dead in that clearing, he would have tried to kill me again," he explained. Draco nodded in understanding; his mother had already told him this, but he hadn't taken it as a big thing until now. What Mr. Greengrass had done surprised him. He hadn't thought he left such a big impression on the man. Nevertheless, he was gratified.

Normally, it would have bothered Draco that two of the four reasons why he was given the job were not by his doing, but at that moment, he was just grateful he had a job at all. A tension-filled silence had enveloped the room after Harry's last comment about dying, and Draco needed something to break it. Felix knew exactly what to do.

"I have one more question. Now that you're my boss, what do I call you?" Harry looked shocked at first, but burst into laughter at the blunt question. Ginny snickered, and Hermione laughed uncertainly, wondering what had gotten into everyone. Ron still looked sour.

"You can call me whatever you called me before." Harry looked expectantly at Draco, waiting for him to retort. Instead Draco retrieved the vial of Felix Felicis and his résumé and pocketed them. He stood up, and stuck his hand out.

"I guess I'll see you next week, Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Die," he grinned cheekily, to soften the comment, and Harry laughed appreciatively. As Draco was about to leave the small cubicle, he was once again stopped, this time by Hermione.

"Actually, Malfoy, we were all going out to The Burrow. Today is Teddy, Harry's godson's birthday. Most of the Aurors are invited, and so are some members from the Order. Nott is coming too. Maybe you could join us?" she said all this nervously and waited anxiously for his response. Ron, next to her, looked like he'd been betrayed. It was obvious that he didn't want Draco there.

"Would that be wise, do you think?" Draco longed to go, but if he was going to be shunned out of the party… he didn't wish for a repeat of the Greengrass ball. But that annoying little voice in his head told him that he should go… that it would be good for his purpose. Draco couldn't wait until the effects of the potion wore off. It was getting tiring, arguing with himself.

"Oh, it'll be great! Teddy will be delighted that he's got more guests, and it'll be a good way to introduce you to some of the people you'll be working with," Ginny spoke up for the first time since entering the room. Harry came up behind her and slid his arm around her waist, his eyes on Draco, waiting for his response.

"You should come, Malfoy. It would be better to do it now, and get it over with anyway," he encouraged him. After a long moment of contemplation, Draco nodded. The party left the tight cubicle, Ron muttering something about there not being enough cake, only to run into Eileen and Nott.

"Potter, you called for me," Nott took in the group before him, his eyes coming to rest on Draco.

"Yeah, Nott, I did. I want you to know that Malfoy here will be starting Auror training next week. You're okay with that, I take it?" It wasn't really a question. It was a command.

"Yes, of course. It'll be fun, having a new member to bully. So… where are you lot headed?" Draco pretended that he hadn't heard that bully comment, and listened as Hermione told Nott of their destination. Nott, deciding to travel with them, joined the entourage, and together they made their way down the lift to the atrium. They were about to floo home, when Draco thought of something; actually, it had been Felix who suggested it to him.

"Hold on. I need to make a stop, before I can come over. You guys go ahead, I'll come by in a few minutes." No one protested, and soon, Draco was throwing the floo powder into the fireplace. "The Three Broomsticks," he called out as he stepped into the fire. Immediately, he felt the flames of the fire lick at him, creating that tingling sensation. He looked up the next moment to see the popular pub, filled with patrons, and he made his way over to the bar.

oOoOoOo

Draco was once again in the fireplace, this time, with two shrunken bottles of Firewhiskey and three shrunken bottles of Butterbeer in his pocket. He was on his way to The Burrow. He had taken the remainder of the Felix Felicis. So far, it had proven to be an excellent potion, and he would need it, if he was going to meet everyone without causing an uproar. He had also transfigured his robe, so that it was now a black muggle dress shirt, matching the pants that he had worn underneath the robes. It would be rather obnoxious to go to the party, sporting the Malfoy Coat of Arms. Something told him that Mattie wouldn't be too happy with him.

Once the flames had stopped, Draco brushed himself off, and stepped out of the fireplace. He was met with the crowded parlor of the Weasleys' home. The conversation around him slowly died, until every pair of eyes in the room were trained on him. Draco, unused to public scrutiny, felt his face warm up in a slight blush.

Soon, the liquid luck kicked in, and he did something that he never would have in any other circumstances. He took the bottles out of his pocket and _engorgio_'ed them, so that the crowd could see what he held. He then stuck his hands out in a peace offering. "I've brought Firewhiskey," he said, rather meekly.

There was one long second of absolute silence, and then everyone started laughing, some shocked into laughter, and others, appreciating the effort. Draco, relieved, smiled sheepishly and made his way over to the refreshment table, where he placed the bottles down. He turned around and surveyed the room. There were about thirty or so adults in the room. Someone came into the room, and Draco recognized with a shock, Andromeda Tonks, his aunt; she looked frighteningly similar to his mother. He listened to her announce that everyone was to go outside, and followed the crowd as they made their way to the Weasleys' backyard.

A large table covered in a white tablecloth was set up on the lawn, with smaller, circular tables placed randomly around it. It was rather like a restaurant, with a stage. Draco saw a little boy, about five, play with a toddler with blond hair, near the table. They were going through a pile of boxes placed under the table, shaking each colourfully wrapped box to figure out what was inside. The thing that had intrigued him was that the boy had blue hair.

Something small caught Draco's eye and he turned his head to find the ugliest thing he had ever seen, hiding behind a tree trunk. He examined it more carefully, and decided that it must be a garden gnome. The hideous thing seemed like it was out of its mind, and even though it tried to walk forward, it kept bumping into the tree. Draco turned his head this way and that, to make sure no one was looking, and shot a quick stunning spell at it. It was in mid-step when the spell caught it, and it toppled over, locked in position.

Draco started looking around innocently, acting as nothing had happened, and he saw Harry, Hermione and Ron standing together by the back door, laughing. He saw Ginny walk up to Harry and give him a kiss, and Draco smirked. _Looks like the Weaslette managed to hold onto the Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Die. _

Draco was about to walk over to the trio, hoping they could tell him what to do. It was incredibly awkward, standing around next to the table, no one talking to him. Draco's progress was interrupted when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, Draco saw Blaise Zabini, holding a glass of what looked like mead, and grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello, Auror Malfoy!"

oOoOoOo

**A/N: **Whew, that took a lot out of me. I loved this chapter. It might seem a little extraordinary, but remember, Felix Felicis is at work here. Everything will turn out to be normal soon. ;-)

**A/N: **Sorry there was no Asco (Astoria/Draco) action in this chapter. I didn't realize it until my beta told me, but I have to warn you. Until Chapter 10, there won't be much Asco at all as I need to develop the plot. So sorry, but I can guarantee that there will be other interesting things going on. Look forward to it!

**OurLoveIsForever:** I don't know if I told you in a review or not, but I absolutely adored that part in your latest chapter, where Draco and Astoria stare at each other. So sweet!

**jn.v13:** Once again, thank you so much for your technical advice! I got my first anonymous review!

**Sweet Epiphany:** Again, what party? xD

**Angelpris:** I should just ask you in an email, but what's funny? xD

**emLILYEVANS:** If you go to jail for kidnapping the Marauders, I will come laugh at you, Draco and Fred by my side. =D *EVIL LAUGH*

**AddieLulz: **I'm sorry that they weren't enabled earlier, but thank you for the review! I hope to see more for the next chapters!

Feedback: 1839 Hits - 28 Reviews – 24 Alerts – 10 Favourites

Written 2009 – 3 – 17

Published 2009 – 4 – 19


	8. Birthday Dragon

The Model Son

~ Chapter Six: Birthday Dragon ~

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, and I definitely do not own Lord of the Rings, either.

**Dedication:** Dedicated to my English teacher, who for some reason, I actually like (not many people do, but she's an amazing teacher… just has weird ways of teaching… and a very odd sense of humour…)

**A/N: **Fred Weasley will be making an appearance in this chapter. I absolutely refuse to accept that he was killed in the Last Battle. You can say that I'm in denial, but I don't care. This is my story, I love him, and I'm not going to have him dead. JKR is cruel to have killed him as well as Lupin and Tonks. But I'm sure she has her reasons…

On that note, Colin Creevy will also make an appearance. As annoying as he was, I liked him, and I did not want him to die. I hope to make him into a slightly more important character… but it depends. I've never tried to juggle more than one pairing at a time (hint, hint… but it's not what you think, trust me.)

-----------------------------------

_Last time…_

_Draco has miraculously gotten the job at the Ministry, thanks to Felix Felicis. He has been invited to Teddy Lupin's birthday party, and has met Blaise Zabini there. _

-----------------------------------

The birthday party was in full swing, and Draco was grateful for Blaise's presence. It was obvious that more than half the people at the party didn't want him there, other than Blaise. Most people kept giving him death glares, and the worst came from some of the Weasley brothers. Draco couldn't tell who was who, but he was fairly sure that Percy Weasley and the twins were the ones giving him the worst. The other Weasleys were either too busy or had been ordered not to be mean by Harry.

Draco had complained to Harry, but Harry had told him something along the lines of, "Suck it up, you prissy. Think of this as your 'initiation' into the office. The more fuss you make, the worse it'll get." It was obvious to Draco that being in charge of Aurors had hardened Harry somewhat. He didn't mind this, but it was extremely annoying having to listen to that lecture while a content Ron Weasley was grinning malevolently at him.

A tired looking Molly Weasley was now bringing out a very large birthday cake, and Draco couldn't help but marvel at the handiwork. The cake depicted a large quidditch pitch, green icing for grass and different coloured seats that rose a foot above the cake. There were miniature brooms, charmed to fly over the cake. It seemed that Teddy, like his godfather, had a quidditch fixation. Everyone made their way over to the small circular tables as Molly set the cake carefully on the large table up front.

Draco took a seat next to Nott, Blaise, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Blaise, it seemed, worked for the Ministry as an Obliviator for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. He said he liked his job well enough, and the others at the party seemed used to his presence. At least, no one was sending _him_ glares. It was the same with Theodore Nott, who looked supremely confident during the party. Draco had seen some of the other men ask for Nott's opinion on the latest news, and everyone seemed interested in what he had to say. It was obvious that he was a respected man.

Draco looked to the cake, to see if they were going to light the candles. To his surprise, instead of sticking candles in the cake, Molly Weasley grabbed a hold of each broom, and lit the small wick, previously unnoticed by Draco, attached to the end of the handle. There were five brooms in all. Draco was amazed at the unorthodox tradition but reminded himself that this was a party held for the offspring of a werewolf and Metamorphagus.

Draco looked around for the birthday boy, and was surprised when the blue-haired boy walked over to the table, and climbed atop a small step placed there so that he could see over the table. _Of course it's him. No mother would dye her son's hair blue… not unless he was a Metamorphagus._ Draco didn't know that Tonks' son had inherited her talent. _At least there's something of her left behind._ Draco was so shocked by his own nice thought, that he missed the countdown for the birthday song. He had never really known his cousin, but thinking back, he would like to have known her. She'd been a brave woman, and she must have been very kind to have married a werewolf.

Everyone had started singing Happy Birthday, and the blue-haired boy looked around, a huge smile on his face. He was loving the attention. Draco smiled as he remembered his own birthday parties as a young boy. They were never this fun, as the occasion was used to show him off, and was not an actual party. The only guests he had were Ministry officials and the like. He was glad for the little boy. Teddy Lupin was getting everything Draco had ever wanted on his birthday.

After the birthday cake had been cut, with photos taken by Colin Creevy himself (Draco was told he was an Auror as well), Teddy started opening his presents. He would first ask who each present was from, and then he would open it and give the person a big hug. Being a five-year-old boy, he didn't need much to make him happy. He would squeal at the smallest things. The little blond toddler, Bill's two-year-old daughter, Victoire, sat next to him, and as he opened each present, she would steal the wrapping paper from him, marveling at the colours.

Little by little, the present pile dwindled, and the more memorable items that Teddy had gotten included a toy broomstick (courtesy of Harry) and a tiny little black kneazle with white spots (courtesy of Hermione, who had a friend who worked for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures). At last, all the presents had been opened, and Teddy was a very happy little boy.

All of a sudden, Teddy's eyes fell on Draco, and he had a curious look on his face. He walked over to Draco, who was standing near the tree that the garden gnome had hid behind and everyone went quiet as they watched Teddy's progress. He turned his face up to Draco and spoke.

"Where's your present, mister?" Draco was so shocked that he couldn't speak. _Idiot! You bought Firewhiskey, but not a birthday present! What kind of guest are you? _Hermione, standing nearby, tried to pacify Teddy.

"Now, now Teddy. Mr. Malfoy didn't know it was your birthday party, so he couldn't have brought anything," Teddy's face twisted, and he looked like he was about to bawl. "Don't get upset! You have so many other nice presents! Look, your kneazle is waiting for you, look over there!" Hermione's distraction didn't work. Teddy still looked like he was about to start crying. As he scrunched up his eyes, and opened his mouth to let out a yell, Draco thought of something.

"Wait! I have your present! It's okay, don't cry!" Now, everyone was looking at Draco, even Victoire, waiting for him to take his present out. Ron snickered, thinking that Draco had dug himself a hole, and Draco couldn't help but silently agree.

"You do? Where is it?" Teddy looked hopeful.

"Ummm… hold on. What's your favourite animal?" Draco stalled, thinking frantically.

"I like dragons. Big, scary dragons," Instantly an idea popped into Draco's head. _Excellent… dragons are my specialty_. He rolled up the sleeves of his black dress shirt, and quickly refined his plan. Everyone was waiting expectantly for him to do something.

"All right then, turn around," Teddy looked confused, but he did as he was told and Draco quickly found the perfect spot in the garden for his plan to be executed. He picked Teddy up from behind, by the armpits.

"Aaaah!" Teddy was surprised as Draco lifted him up and placed him on his shoulders, securing him and telling the little boy to put his arms around his head. When Teddy did just that, Draco carefully walked over to the spot he had picked out. It was a bit farther away from the main party, and there were no trees to block his view of the star-filled sky.

"You spell your name T-E-D-D-Y, right?" He didn't really expect Teddy to know how to spell, but it seemed the intelligent boy _did_ know. He nodded, and Draco took his wand out.

Meanwhile, behind the two, the other party guests were muttering to themselves. Most were curious as to what Draco would do to appease the little boy, but some were suspicious.

"Harry, dear, are you sure it's okay for Teddy to be alone with him?" a worried Molly Weasley was whispering to Harry.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. And besides, Malfoy's not stupid enough to try something with all these Aurors here." And so everyone waited, some still unsure, for Draco to do something.

All of a sudden, the darkness of the night was disturbed as sparks flew out of Draco's wand. These were not normal sparks, however. They were all of different colours: blue, red, green, yellow, purple and orange, and they flew high into the air, at least fifty meters. Once the sparks reached their peak however, they didn't fall back to the ground. Instead, they stayed up in the sky, forming words. Harry, Hermione, and a few other muggleborns attending the party were reminded of muggle fireworks. The sparks even made similar noises.

Draco's wand kept shooting out sparks in a constant stream, and, after a full minute, the flow stopped. Up in the sky, very large, multicoloured letters spelled the words 'Happy 5th Birthday Teddy!' Everyone ooh'ed and aah'ed at the pretty sight, and Teddy, still on Draco's shoulders, squealed and wiggled, delighted.

"Vicky! Look, look! It's my name!" he called over to the blond toddler. Victoire clambered off her father's lap and walked over to Draco's side, tripping a few times. Draco bent down carefully, so that Teddy wouldn't fall and picked up the tiny girl. She let out a high-pitched squeal, and gurgled, getting a few laughs from the crowd.

"Wait, Teddy. There's more," Draco told the boy, and Teddy immediately stopped moving around, waiting, and so did everyone else. They were not disappointed. The sparks up in the sky started moving around, and to the wizards and witches down on earth, it looked like the words were morphing. They moved around for a while, and after a few moments, they formed another image. It was of an enormous dragon, a dragon with multicoloured scales. Its wings were nearly as long as its body and the tail had horns scattered along it. The sparks made it seem like it was glittering and sparkling, illuminating the night sky with its bright lights.

_Felix, you have outdone yourself. I've done this before, but not this well._

_**Why, thank you Draco. Now shut up and finish the trick.**_

Draco grinned and waved his right hand in a sweeping motion. Everyone in the backyard looked at him as if he was crazy, but they were soon distracted, as the dragon started moving. To everyone's amazement, its mouth opened wide, and it let out a tremendous roar that had the ground underneath them shaking. Teddy, instead of being afraid, let out another bout of delighted laughter, Victoire joining him.

The dragon moved again. The sparks were moving very fast, giving the illusion that the dragon was moving up in the sky to face the party down below. The dragon raised its wings, to reveal the magnificent length that was its wingspan. It let out another earth-shattering roar, and it started flapping its wings. Draco had even altered the charm so that it would make flapping noises.

The sparks started moving towards earth, making it seem like the dragon was flying towards them. There was a scattering of nervous laughter among the adults, as the dragon came nearer and nearer. It was coming closer… closer… closer… all the while letting out small roars, and flapping its multicoloured wings.

Some of the adults let out a scream, and some even ducked as the dragon made an impressive dive, and swooped over them, gliding with its wings stretched to the maximum. The people that were brave enough to watch, Teddy and Victoire among them, received an amazing view of the dragon's glittering underbelly, as it was a mere meter above the Burrow's roof. The witches,' and some of the wizards,' hair were windblown, as the heat and wind generated by the dragon reached them.

The dragon, a safe distance away from them, started flapping its wings again, and began gaining height. About twenty meters above, it let out another colossal roar, and exploded with a deafening sound. The colours were blinding as the sparks all culminated into one massive inferno up in the sky. After a moment or two, the sparks started raining down on the crowd below, but before they could touch the ground, they disappeared with a sizzle.

Down on earth, in the Burrow's backyard, it was silent as the sparks, one by one, reached the ground with sizzling noises. A minute later, all the sparks had disappeared, and all was still silent. Draco turned to face the crowd, a look of apprehension on his face. _Did I do something wrong? Crap… I'm going to get fired. Must be some kind of record… hired and fired in less than four hours. _

"Bloody hell…" it was a faint voice, coming from the back of the crowd. Everyone turned to see a very pale Ron Weasley, who had a gob-smacked expression on his face; he looked like he was about to faint. Hermione let out a small laugh, and soon, that whole table was giggling. Little by little, everyone in the party started to. They were small giggles at first, but soon, it was full-blown laughter, as everyone started joking around.

"You were so scared, Ron. You should have seen your face!" Draco heard one of the twins saying to an annoyed Ron, whose colour was slowly coming back to him. The laughter turned into applause, and people turned to Draco, congratulating him on the amazing performance. The only person who hadn't said anything was Mrs. Weasley, and, of course, some of the other Weasley men.

"Umm, Draco, do you think the muggles saw that?" Molly seemed uncomfortable talking to him.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley. It had an undetectable charm on it. The muggles wouldn't have seen or heard anything… except maybe the screaming coming from Ron," Everyone laughed at that last comment, and even Ron smiled a little. Draco put Victoire down carefully, and she immediately ran over to her father, excited to tell him about all that she had seen. Draco picked Teddy up off his shoulders, and placed him on the ground, facing away from him. Teddy, instead of walking off, stood very still.

Draco, afraid that something was wrong, walked around to face Teddy. He squatted down to his face level and knew something was definitely wrong. The little boy was looking forward, unblinking, with a pale complexion, his face rather similar to Ron's.

"Teddy? Teddy, are you all right?" Draco shook the little boy gently, hoping to get a reaction. The next moment, his vision was blurred, and all he could see were bright flashes of lime green as Teddy tackled him to the ground, his arms in a chokehold around Draco's neck.

"That was AWESOME! IT WAS SO COOL! Bring him back! Bring him back!" Teddy roared in his ear, squeezing his arms and cutting off Draco's oxygen flow. Draco gently pried the arms off his neck, and sat up, Teddy in his lap. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to watch the little boy's antics. Draco now understood why he had seen lime green… Teddy's hair colour had changed in his excitement.

"Teddy, that dragon went to sleep. I can't wake him up again, or he'll get angry," It was a farfetched lie, but hopefully, the boy was too excited to figure it out. Fortunately, Teddy seemed to buy that, and he nodded slowly. His face took on a thoughtful look, and he scrutinized Draco as only a five-year-old can.

"Mister, who are you?" Everyone was silent, and some people shifted uncomfortably on their chairs. How do you tell a five-year-old about ex-Death Eaters?

Draco thought for a moment, and answered carefully. "I'm Draco Malfoy. Your mother, Nymphadora Tonks, was my cousin, so that would make me your uncle." Teddy's face became excited. It was rare that he ever met anyone who knew his mother. He wiggled in Draco's lap, excited to hear more.

"Did you know my mother?" Draco was stunted by the question.

_What do I say? He looks so excited… I can't tell him no. _

_**You have to.**_

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't know her that well," Teddy's face fell. "But I knew your father," Draco added hastily.

"Really?!" Teddy grinned. "How?"

"He… he was a professor of mine at school," Draco refused to say any more. Everyone was already looking at him strangely. He wasn't going to make that worse.

"Really? Was he a good pro-proff-proshor?? Were you in Uncle Harry's class?" Teddy was full of questions. Harry rarely ever talked about Teddy's parents… he didn't like thinking about the Last Battle.

Draco sighed… it seemed that the little boy needed more to be happy, and Draco wasn't going to be the one to ruin his birthday. "Yes… I was in Harry's class. Your father was one of the best teachers we ever had. He taught us many exciting things," Draco didn't dare look up. He didn't want to know what was on the faces of everyone gathered there. Most likely disgust… here he was, the same boy who had tried to make the lycanthrope's life miserable, waxing lyrical about him to his own son. Talk about hypocrisy.

"Oh. Okay. Why do you have such a funny name?" Draco heard laughter nearby, and knew that most of it came from Ron Weasley.

"My name means 'dragon' in Greek. It's also a constellation in the sky," Draco got the nerve to look up and shoot Ron a dirty look. "And what does your name mean, Ronald Bilius?" That caused a great round of laughter from everyone, even Mr. Weasley. Draco had heard about the embarrassing middle name when he overheard Hermione lecturing the redhead.

"Uncle Ron's middle name is Bilius?!" Teddy roared with laughter and ran off to Victoire to tell her this latest bit of news. Draco chuckled and walked off to eat some birthday cake.

oOoOoOo

It was getting close to midnight, and many of the party guests had left the party. The only ones that remained were all of the Weasleys and their various partners. Fleur was Bill's wife and Audrey was Percy's wife. Angelina Johnson was also there, with George, and of course, Hermione with Ron. The others that stayed were Blaise, Nott, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and Draco himself. Teddy and Victoire had been put to sleep upstairs. Molly, Percy and Audrey's baby daughter, was giggling in Luna's arms, with Neville making funny faces at her.

Draco was seated on the loveseat, next to Gabrielle Delacour, who had come to England for an exchange program between Beauxbatons and Hogwarts. She had taken the opportunity to visit her sister and her family. It was awkward at first, for the two blondes, but soon they began talking about the two schools and hit it off. According to Gabrielle, while Hogwarts was a castle, Beauxbatons was a palace. That had started a light-hearted bantering about which school was better.

Draco accepted a cup of coffee from Molly Weasley, who had gotten over her awkwardness near him. Draco decided that she had a large heart, to forgive him so easily while her husband and sons were still very reluctant. He looked around, sipping his coffee and smiled as he noted that his Firewhiskey was being put to good use. Over in a corner, Blaise and Ron sat together sharing a bottle of the strong liquor. It was obvious that they were more than drunk.

Molly Weasley chastised the boys for their reckless behaviour and took the bottle away from them. They drunkenly stood up and walked over to the group of people chatting near the fireplace. The conversation paused as everyone made room for the inebriated boys, and it resumed when Charlie started speaking.

"So, Ronniekins, Fred and I were just talking about our latest lady loves…" Charlie filled them in on the conversation. "How're things with you and Hermione?" It was obvious that the dragon keeper just wanted to poke fun at the uptight Hermione, who blushed at his impromptu question.

"None o' your business… I love 'my knee… right 'my knee?" Ron gave Hermione a loud and rather sloppy kiss, making her blush even more. "Wha 'bout you, Freddiekins? Who have you got?" The question made George burst out laughing.

"Fred's got a bimbo, that's what he's got," George informed the group to general laughter. Hermione, Percy, Mrs. Weasley and Fred himself looked offended, for entirely different reasons of course.

"Shut up, George. At least I didn't steal my twin's girl!" He was only joking, of course. It was a well known fact that George and Angelina had been attracted to each other while Fred was with Angelina. Fred and Angelina were doing well, but when George had seen Angelina with another man, no matter that the other man was his twin, it had been "love at fiftieth sight", as Fred put it.

Charlie, still looking for some trouble, turned to the drunken Blaise. "How about you, Blaise? Who's your latest bird?" Blaise shook his head, trying to focus on Charlie.

"I'm gay," he said shortly. Ron burst out laughing and wouldn't stop until Hermione enlightened him.

"Ron… I think he's serious." That effectively put a stop to Ron's laughter.

"What?"

"I'm gay… you know homosexual… I fancy blokes…" Blaise's blunt comments had everyone chuckling, except Ron, who looked astounded.

"Yes, Weasley, he's gay. I'd be too, if I had a mother like his," Draco put in. Everyone looked at him in shock… no one wanted to offend Blaise. Blaise's reply amazed them even more.

He grinned at Draco, or at least he was trying to… the alcohol had him unfocused, and he was looking somewhere to the left of Draco. "Truer words have never been spoken, my friend. And might I say, you look incredibly sexy in that shirt of yours!" That last comment had everyone hooting with laughter, even Draco, but Ron looked appalled.

After a few moments, Blaise walked off, saying something about the loo. Draco noticed that Ron still had a nasty look on his face, and he smirked.

"Weasley, you're not a homophobe, are you? You better not be, because Blaise doesn't like homophobes…" Everyone turned to Ron, waiting for his reply.

"I… Of course I'm not a homophobe…"

"Good, because you don't want to hear what happened to the last homophobe that insulted Blaise." Of course, Ron took the bait.

"What? What did he do?" He looked rather nervous, in Draco's opinion.

"He kissed him," Draco said this with a rather malignant smile, and everyone laughed at the irony.

"Oh yeah? What about you, then? Aren't you afraid that Zabini might fancy you?" Ron asked. Hermione looked rather embarrassed next to him.

"Nah… Blaise doesn't do blondes," Draco winked at Gabrielle, who giggled.

The night continued in this manner; many jokes and anecdotes were told, and no one seemed to mind Blaise's newly announced sexuality. In fact, Ron was the one being teased for his behaviour, rather than Blaise. Most of the people seemed to be unsurprised, and it was no wonder; if anything, Blaise was a very flamboyant gay man.

Draco was supremely content… he had gotten a job at the Ministry, and he had simultaneously quelled any past rivalries he may have had; maybe not completely, but these people seemed tolerant enough. However, Teddy should be given the credit for that. After that little dragon incident, the guests had started to treat Draco a little better. Still, he couldn't be sure of anything but at the moment, Draco was a very happy man.

oOoOoOo

**A/N:** I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I've been under the weather for the past week, and have been walking around the house sneezing at everything. I think I may have an allergy. But the only thing that's changed is that I bought goldfish. Can someone be allergic to fish?

**Important:** I don't think that the Weasleys' rather nice reaction to Draco is all that farfetched. Keep in mind, Fred was not killed, and therefore, the Weasleys have no one to hate. (I don't normally like to explain things like this, because I feel that it should be obvious from my writing, if I've written well, but I didn't want to have to deal with any questions involving this.)

Published 2009 – 05 – 03

**OurLoveIsForever: **I don't know if Theo is going to be as important in this story as your Theo, but he will play a big part in the Asco action, inadvertently of course. My version of Theo is too proper to meddle in others' business ;-)

**Angelpris: **Thanks again for editing, and I finally understood what you meant when you said commas inside apostrophes. xD

**christy86: **You won't be seeing Asco for a while, but I will try to make the rest of the chapters interesting, don't worry.

**Lady Grace of Masbolle: **I'm so sorry for not waiting for your edited version, but it was getting late, and I wanted to update. Hope you don't mind! If you want, you can send me your edited version later, and I'll edit the chapter again, and replace the new version with this version.

**Gotta_Love_Draco:** Hurry up and remember your account already! xD I really need some help! :-P

**FredandGeorgeWeasleyareMYKings: **I absolutely LOVED More Fine Carriages. There should be more stories like that.

**Sweet Epiphany:** I'm glad you like the golden quartet in the story, because you'll see a LOT more of them soon. Have you seen the picture of Tom Felton with a bloody torso (filming for 13 Hours)? Sexiest thing I have ever seen, but the wallpaper kinda ruined it for me. XD

**emLILYEVANS:** I just realized that I am harbouring a humongous crush on none other than Severus Snape. You can have everyone if I can have Snape… and Draco, of course. *SNAPE LOVER*

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	9. Hazing Malfoy

The Model Son

~ Chapter Eight: Hazing Malfoy ~

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, and with this chapter, I probably won't want to own this story either, seeing as you guys will all be hating me.

**Dedication:** Dedicated to songs such as Disturbia, which has the most morbid lyrics. They provide me with the angst I needed for this chapter.

**Note**: In case anyone didn't know, the sentences that are in italics are Draco's thoughts. I rarely ever write any other point of view, so unless I tell you otherwise, that will always be the case.

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_Last time…_

_Draco has survived the party at the Burrow. He is now going to be starting his Auror training. _

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Draco didn't know how he had gotten into this position. It had all happened so fast, and he hadn't expected any of it… he couldn't think clearly… he was in too much pain. He felt ice cold water slide down the back of his robe, and he struggled against the restraints holding him back. His head, his hands, his arms, his _hair_ hurt, and it was ridiculous.

He tried to think back, but everything was a blur. He heard laughs, jeers, and mocking calls nearby, but he couldn't focus on what they were saying. He felt another spell hit him, and was about to let out a bloodcurdling scream, but he stopped himself just in time. The spell was painful, and he felt like he was on fire, but Draco still didn't scream. He wouldn't give the bastards the pleasure of knowing that what they were doing hurt, in any way.

Another round of jeering started, and Draco willed himself to become numb. He separated his mind from his body, and little by little, the voices, the_ pain_ faded and he was left with just himself and his thoughts. Panic reigned his mind first and foremost, but he quickly quelled it. He tried to think of ways to escape, and soon, he was deep in thought as the hazing continued.

oOoOoOoOo

Today was the first day of his Auror training, and Draco had – naïvely - been excited. He had entered the Auror Office, full of the belief that he would be able to convince the other Aurors that he wasn't so bad. The few Aurors who hadn't been at the party looked at him with shock and disgust, not believing that he had been recruited. Nott had come out of his little cubicle, and quickly ushered Draco into a quiet corner.

He had told Draco that it wouldn't be wise to start training until everyone had started to accept his presence. Harry had already talked to some of them, telling them to be nice. Obviously, no one was going to follow that order until they were sure they could trust Draco. Therefore, Harry had told Nott to allow Draco to do simple tasks, until everything, and everyone, calmed down. After all, there was no point in training him if there was no one willing to help him other than just Nott.

So, for that day, Draco had been asked to accompany two other Aurors to Diagon Alley, and act as security for a goblin who needed to be escorted from the Ministry to Gringotts safely. Supposedly, this goblin was an important figure in the Goblin community, and it was necessary that he be transported safely, or it would be on the Ministry's head. The other Aurors who were to accompany Draco and goblin were none other than Cormac McLaggen and Zacharias Smith themselves.

Draco had always hated McLaggen with a passion, and not just because he was a Gryffindor. At least Gryffindors had _some_ redeeming qualities. Cormac was a coward who liked to boast about him and only him. He embodied all the bad qualities of a Gryffindor. Draco knew for a fact that Harry hated the man just as much as he did, so he was surprised that he had become an Auror at all. _He must not be a good one, if he's still escorting people._ Draco didn't know much about Smith, but he had heard that the boy was an asshole. The man he had become probably wouldn't be much better.

When Draco had reluctantly agreed to the menial task, he had met McLaggen, Smith and the goblin in the Atrium. They had all Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron, which would lead them into Diagon Alley. Their orders had been to safely deliver the goblin, Nagnor, to Gringotts without any problems arising. It was a relatively simple job, but it had to be taken seriously. Nagnor was a prominent goblin, and it would not do to have him being kidnapped, or worse.

Draco was surprised that during the whole trip, the other Aurors hadn't said anything. They were nothing but professional, and it was unbelievable that they could even stand to be in his presence without cringing. Nagnor proved to be no company at all. He was a rather paranoid goblin, and he would look back over his shoulder every so often, making sure that no one was following them. If one of the Aurors moved even a centimeter away from their stance and he was uncovered, he would start reprimanding the poor man, complaining that the Ministry didn't train their officers properly.

They successfully completed the mission, and Draco had been amused to find himself relieved to be rid of the annoying goblin. As the three men walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, Draco was unaware of anything suspicious. He didn't notice McLaggen and Smith slowly falling behind, every so often whispering to each other. Soon, the trio were near the most crowded part of Diagon Alley, right in front of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes.

Draco let out a small yelp as he felt himself being yanked from behind. Being a wizard, he had never been attacked physically, and he didn't know any defensive maneuvers. He was being held back by a strong pair of hands, and he struggled in vain as another pair groped his robes. The masculine hands quickly found what they were looking for: his wand. Draco was facing away from the two men, towards the window of the shop, and he wasn't able to see anything but the colourful, humorous ads of the Weasley twins. He wasn't able to see what they did with his wand.

_Dammit. Why aren't McLaggen and Smith doing anything?_

All of a sudden, he was swiftly turned to face his attackers, and he was shocked to see the other two Aurors. McLaggen looked positively evil, a malicious grin on his face. Smith looked equally evil, but his eyes glanced around furtively, afraid of anyone seeing. That was in vain, as some shoppers had already seen the little scuffle, and paused to watch it develop. Draco once again tried to escape, but McLaggen had charmed rope to bind him to the building.

"Don't you try to escape, you _vile, disgusting ferret_. I can't believe Potter was stupid enough to hire the likes of you. I always knew he was off his rocker, but this time, we've had enough," McLaggen was a mere three centimeters away from him, and Draco recoiled from the horrid smell of his breath.

_Ha… and here I was, thinking they were professional men. Arseholes. _Draco thought it was best not to say anything, as it would only egg them on to go further.

Draco heard McLaggen talk again, this time, moving back, and facing Draco with his arms crossed, a triumphant grin on his face. Smith near him looked like he had forgotten about the witnesses, and he too, took a stance in front of Draco. Draco saw McLaggen's hand pull back, his fist closing, and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain. The blow came swift and powerful, hitting him square on the jaw. Draco's head was jolted to the side by the impact, and he hit the brick wall, hard.

Shaking his head to stop the dizziness, Draco tasted the metallic flavour of his own blood, and panicked. These men were out to kill. He saw Smith raise his wand, and felt the pain of a shock spell go through him, and as the volts of electricity ran through his body, Draco felt his eyes rolling back into his head. Smith stopped the spell, and sneered.

"If you think that you're going to become an Auror, you have another think coming, _Malfoy_," Smith spat his name as if it were poisonous. "No one's going to accept a Death Eater into the office, and you know it. The smart thing would be to just leave, like the coward you are. It'll do us all a favour."

Draco felt an unbelievable rush of anger at Smith's words. _Who the fuck is he, to tell me what I should and should not do? _ "I don't think you should be calling me a coward, _Smith,_ when you're the one who attacked me from behind." Draco tried to ignore the annoying voice at the back of his head that reminded him that he had done the very same thing to Harry Potter in fourth year.

Apparently, Smith was not accustomed to being insulted, especially by a victim. McLaggen, seeing that Smith was speechless, took over the demanding job of taunting their victim. "I wouldn't do anything rash, if I were you, Malfoy. You've got no wand, and no one willing to help shit like you." It was true. There was a small crowd that had gathered around. There were about ten or so people. Some looked like they were enjoying the show, but most looked uncomfortable with the situation. Although these people didn't like what was going on, they weren't stupid enough to interrupt. Draco truly had no one…

McLaggen grinned, seeing the defeated look on Draco's face. This confidence gave him the courage to start beating Draco again. Unlike Smith, who preferred not to get his hands dirty, McLaggen was all about physical combat. As the two men each took their turns beating him up, Draco's strength wore out little by little. And that lead him to where he was now.

The crowd had grown in the little while, but no one was willing to step in. Draco had lost all hope by then, and he couldn't think of any way to escape, not without his wand. Even McLaggen and Smith were getting tired of beating him up, but they kept it up, enjoying their little audience. They thought that they were being heroes, ridding the world of scum like Draco… it sickened the blonde.

He was now covered in blood, most of which was from his mouth and nose; some of it was from McLaggen, who had bloody knuckles from all the punches. Draco couldn't see well because one of McLaggen's more painful punches had hit him in the face, and his right eye was swollen to the point that he couldn't see through it. He was sure that his nose was cracked; he couldn't breathe through it at all, so he had to take shallow breaths through his mouth, causing rivulets of blood from his nose to fall into his mouth, adding to his discomfort.

His wrists were bloody and bruised from chaffing against the rough rope that ensnared him. At least one of his ribs were broken, and it was so painful, it was numbing. His robes were in tatters, from the punches as well as the more creative spells Smith had cast. Through the rips, Draco could see patches of pale skin, now purple with bruises, and he could see the part of his torso where the broken rib stuck out. The sight nauseated him, and as much as he wanted it to, the punches and spells wouldn't stop.

Draco knew enough about healing to know that it wouldn't be smart to lose conscious at that moment, so he fought hard to keep his eyes open, but his will to live was slowly ebbing away. The taunts no longer came, but McLaggen and Smith continued with their torture. Draco blinked his eyes a few times, in an effort to stay awake. He could see the blurred outlines of the crowd behind the two blurs that were McLaggen and Smith. He saw a few more people walking toward the crowd, but his poor sight didn't allow him to see who it was.

The only thing his fuzzy brain could register was "_Ooooh… pretty red colour…_". The last thing Draco heard as he succumbed to the dark was an angry voice.

"Stupefy! What the fuck is going on here?"

oOoOoOo

(**A/N: **I'm tempted to end it here, but that would confirm my trip to hell, so… ;-P)

_Oww… who the fuck danced on my head?_ Draco couldn't feel anything but complete pain. He strained to hear something, as he still couldn't see anything, but his ears could pick up nothing. He tried to figure out where he was, but without sight, it was impossible. He smelled the scent of laundry soap, from the sheets of the bed he was lying on; the calming smell was mixed with the smell of various healing potions. He felt a breeze, and knew that he had nothing on except for the pair of pants he wore.

_Damn it. Where the hell am I?_ He gingerly tried to move his arm around, but let it fall with a grunt at the pain. It wasn't worth it. His nose was fully healed, and he could breathe properly but his ribs were another story. They still hurt like the devil, and he could feel the constricting tightness of gauze wrapped around his torso. Draco tried to move his hand again, and succeeded this time, but not without a large amount of pain. He was about to touch his face, and try to figure out how badly deformed he was, but something stopped him. Draco tugged on his hand again, and felt a cast restrict his movements.

_Huh. I didn't know that my arm was broken…_ Suddenly, there were noises nearby.

"Blimey, Hermione. That was scary! Did you see that vase? It was mum's favourite, you know, and just like that, it was shattered, and he didn't even look at it! It was wicked! Mum's not too happy 'bout it though…" Draco had never been happier to hear the voice of Ron Weasley before. Actually, he had never been happy to hear it. He strained to hear more of the conversation.

"It's quite understandable, Ron. I would be the same too… but it was rather terrifying. I don't think I've ever seen him this mad. Thank god for Ginny." It took a while for Draco to understand that they were talking about Harry.

"He looked a bit like Dumbledore, for a second there. You know, in third year, when the dementors came?"

"I remember perfectly well, thank you Ronald. I don't think he'll appreciate us talking about him. Let's go see Malfoy. He should be awake now."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want him to touch anything in there. Percy won't be too happy 'bout that." Draco heard footsteps outside his door, and he stiffened. He heard the door creak open, and the footsteps reached his bed.

"Oh good, you're awake. You need to take your potions," he heard Hermione say, followed by a few clinks.

"'Mione, how can you tell if the bloke's awake. His eyes are swollen. They'd look the same open and closed." Draco felt like punching the redhead.

"_Because_ Weasel, unlike you, Granger over there actually has enough brain cells to function." It was a petty insult, but Draco wasn't feeling well enough to come up with his usual. His throat was parched, and it hurt to talk. To add to his humiliation, his words came out distorted because his tongue was swollen and dry. He licked at his lips, trying to get the pasty taste out of his mouth.

"Oh, that's how." Surprisingly, Ron didn't continue that comment with another petty comeback. This immediately put Draco on edge. He must be more hurt than he thought, if the Weasel was going to be nice to him. He felt small hands at his shoulder, lifting him up and propping him onto numerous, fluffy pillows. Draco felt a spoon clack against his teeth, and opened his mouth, allowing Hermione to pour the potion in. It tasted like hell of course, but Draco wasn't about to stop his healing process.

"Here, this should help your eyes." Draco couldn't hear the muttered spell, but he felt the curious sensation as his swollen eyes started to recede back to their original form. "Perfect. You'll have that bruise for a few days, but that'll disappear soon."

"Thanks, Granger. Can I have some water?" Hermione walked out of the room and Ron made himself comfortable at the end of the bed, watching Draco carefully. Now that Draco could see, he took inventory of the room he was in. It was a small room, with nothing but a bed, a closet and small desk in it. Off to the side, there was a window, and Draco could see that it was night outside. The backyard he could see out the window was familiar; he was at the Burrow.

When Hermione came back, she was accompanied by the whole Weasley clan, which included Harry and Fleur. Charlie, Percy and Bill had work, so they were not present… not that Draco minded. He was sure that at least one of the three hated his guts. The room was overcrowded, but everyone found a place around the bed. Draco was unaccustomed to so much attention, especially from a family who he had treated horribly. He shifted on the bed, but stopped when it caused him too much pain. He lifted the covers up so that it hid his bruised torso, in an effort to remain dignified.

"Hullo, Malfoy. How're you holding up?" Harry, who had asked the question, stood at Draco's right, and he looked like shit. His clothes were ruffled, and his hair stuck up, more so than usual. Ginny beside him looked tired as well. Draco accepted Hermione's glass of water and drank thirstily before he answered.

"I'm fine. What happened?" Draco's voice was still horribly scratchy, and the potion hadn't helped much. He needed to understand what happened, and was hoping for a reliable explanation. Fred answered him.

"We saw the commotion outside the store, and when we went outside to investigate, we saw you." Draco focused all his attention on the twin, but then George interrupted.

"So we called Harry over, and he… you know… became Harry. I'm sure you know what I mean." There were a few chuckles at that statement, and Harry looked uncomfortable. Everyone looked expectantly at Draco, waiting for him to laugh, but he was confused. What did they mean?

"What- I… I don't understand." Draco looked around, waiting for someone to make it clear. The Weasleys looked at each other, wondering how they should tell him. Hermione was the one to explain.

"Malfoy, do you remember third year, during that quidditch game, when the dementors came and attacked Harry?" When Draco nodded, she continued. "Do you remember how Dumbledore reacted?" Draco nodded, not understanding what this had to do with anything, until he remembered Dumbledore's anger.

"Oh!" Draco looked to Harry, who was now red in the face, hiding behind Ginny, who looked amused. "Well… what did you do?" Ron, looking excited, answered.

"He was so mad that when he tried stupefying them, he ended up knocking them into the store window. Wicked cool, that was."

"Oh, that reminds me. Harry mate, you owe us money." Fred turned to Harry, his arms folded across his chest, an accusing expression on his face.

"What for?" Harry tried to adapt a face of innocence while saying it. "Can't you just _Reparo_ it or something?"

"Pfft… did you hear that George? He thinks we should use _Reparo._"

"That I did, my dear Fred." George walked over to stand next to his twin, imitating his posture. "All that will do is rearrange the letters of Hyper Tarrot –

"- back into Harry Potter." Fred finished off.

"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you two about that. I don't think I approved of you using my name in your ads." Harry tried to steer away from the subject. Fred and George grinned, recognizing his plan of diversion.

"It's all right, Harry. We were only joking. We wouldn't ask for money from our benefactor." Harry looked visibly relieved after Fred's comment.

"Ahem." Draco's attempt at getting everyone's attention worked, and they all turned to him; but the throat clearing had not helped the pain one bit. "Would any-" he broke off, coughing, continuing when he recovered. "Would anyone care to tell me what happened to McLaggen and Smith?"

"I've fired them. What they did was not only wrong, but it has an impact on the other Aurors as well. I can't have anyone not trust my guys because of what those two did today." Harry became more and more agitated as he spoke. "I knew I'd regret it when I hired them. You were right, Ron. They're a pair of pricks." That sentence was punctuated by a loud crack, as the window shattered, and the shards fell into the room. A breeze blew in, and Draco brought the covers up, closer to his body, hiding from the chill.

"Harry dear, I know you're upset, but there's really no need for you to break everything in the house." Upon finishing her lecture, Mrs. Weasley took out her wand and advised everyone not to go near the area. Draco knew that it would take forever to pick up every shard, even magically, and he really wanted to stop the breeze coming in.

He pointed his left palm, the palm of the hand that wasn't broken, out at the pile of glass pieces, and focused all his power into it. Across the room, all of the shards, even the tiny ones that no one could see, collected into a pile. The pile rose slowly up into the air, and as everyone in the room watched, the pile levitated itself over to the garbage can near the desk, directed by Draco's hand. At last, the pile reached its destination, and deposited itself neatly into the can. When it had finished, everyone looked to Draco in awe, but the simple spell had worn out his broken body, and he was too tired to notice.

"Malfoy, how did you do that?" Fred asked.

"Do what?" Draco yawned, and burrowed into the pillow below him.

"Clean all that up without a wand. I couldn't have done that, even with a wand."

"Oh, that." Finally understanding, Draco looked at Fred, a smirk on his bruised face. "When you live in a house as big as mine, you learn to work without your wand." With that rather pompous statement, Draco fell into a deep sleep.

The Weasleys were left to stand in bemusement by the bed. Harry took out a hawthorn wand, Draco's wand, and placed it on the bedside table. He then turned to Mr. Weasley and sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley. I know it's hard housing the git, but it was the first place I could think of."

Mr. Weasley's face deepened into a frown. "Well Harry, I can't say that I'm happy about it, but as long as Lucius Malfoy isn't at my throat tomorrow, I'll be fine."

Mrs. Weasley spoke up thoughtfully. "It's rather hard to trust him, after all that's he's done. I don't know if it was a good idea to hire him." Although no one said anything, Harry knew that everyone else agreed.

Fleur spoke up. "Bill 'as told me zat zee gobleens 'ad to kick 'im out forcefully."

"Why was he there is the first place?" Hermione asked.

"'e waz looking for a job. Charlie told Bill zat 'e even went to Romania to work at ze reserve."

Harry smiled ruefully, and Hermione spoke up. "So he really was desperate for a job. As much as I know you all would love to deny it, it would seem that Malfoy's finally realized that he can't be smarmy git and get away with it anymore."

oOoOoOo

**A/N:** Kinda short, sorry. This is the one chapter where I am really looking forward to gouging the response. What do you think is going to happen next? Will Draco still become an Auror, or will he find another job? And if he stays as an Auror, when will he meet Tori again? Ideas?

Feedback: 3164 Hits - 44 Reviews – 25 Alerts – 15 Favourites

**Angelpris:** Hope you're not too busy to stop reading fan fiction!

**David Fishwick:** If only I had more cool ideas T_T

**ctc:** Thank you!

**Heartsday:** Now you have your answer. Draco really can't do well without the felix. I think I should remedy that, don't you?

**Sweet Epiphany:** xD I do not eat goldfish! And have you seen the picture yet? It's rather interesting. I just saw a picture of Tom without make-up. He looks old! xD

**emLILYEVANS:** Severus Snape and I will one day rule the world. Then you and your pesky little James can be my servants! Mwahaha… :-P

**OurLoveIsForever:** It seems I need some action in my stories too. I've read stories where everything is lovey-dovey and happy, and the only drama comes from bad relationships. Those are the fictions that I tend to abandon the most. So I thought I'd throw some bloody gore in there to liven it up. I think that McLaggen and Smith will be making more appearances too. It should be interesting.

**Gotta-LOVE-Draco9: **Now you know who I almost killed. Aren't I the bestest friend ever? xP


	10. Promiscuous Mothers

The Model Son

~ Chapter Ten: Promiscuous Mothers ~

**Disclaimer: **This will be my last Disclaimer. Once and for all, I do not own Harry Potter. No copyright infringement intended, and I make no profit off this fiction.

**Dedication:** Dedicated to Ant and Dec from Britain's Got Talent. "BOYYY! WORD TO YA MOTHAH!" (If you don't understand, watch Britain's Got Talent – DJ Talent on youtube)

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_Last time…_

_Draco's first day as an Auror trainee turned into a hazing session from the other Aurors. He is now in the Burrow, recuperating from the harassing. _

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_Boom! Boom! Boom! _

"What's going on?"

"Who's there?"

"Everyone move back. I'm opening the door."

"Be careful, Arthur!"

Draco struggled to open his eyes. The potion Hermione had administered made this very difficult; he was so tired, and though he could hear the commotion downstairs, he could not open his eyes. Downstairs, everything went quiet, and he strained to hear more. Oh, how he wished he had one of those extendable ears. The sneaky little gadgets had become quite popular, and now, even the Ministry was using them.

He heard a collective gasp from downstairs. It would seem that the guest was someone unexpected.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ginny's voice was shockingly cold, and Draco was glad she wasn't talking to him. She obviously hated whomever she was talking to, very much.

The voice that spoke next had Draco bolting up in the comfortable bed, his eyes wide open. "You have my son. I want him home. Let me in, I'd like to see him." Draco gathered up all his strength, and stumbled off the bed. He made his way over to the door, nearly bent double at the pain this caused his torso, still heavily bruised and in pain from the rather well aimed kicks of McLaggen. Outside the window of the small room, he could see that it was still night, the February moon was out, shining brightly.

He turned the knob of the bedroom door rather awkwardly, as his right hand hadn't mended yet. Making his way to the landing of the staircase, he could hear the conversation more clearly.

"Lucius, I don't think you should be here right now. Your son is perfectly safe, and there's no need to become upset. He'll come home when he's better." Arthur's voice was incredibly tense, and Draco could hear the restraint in it. Clearly, the war had not erased the animosity between the two men.

"Better? You said he's fine. Why does he need to become better? What have you done to my son? I want to see him now!" Draco sighed shortly, knowing that this situation would require his presence. Eying the long flights of stairs, he slowly made his way to the top step. He placed his hands on the rail, and leaning heavily on it, made his way down to the main floor, step by step. Every so often, he would have to pause and take a breath in order to start over.

At last, he made it to the kitchen of the Burrow. The commotion near the entrance hall had heightened, and he could hear his father's voice become agitated. He could also hear the voices of Arthur, Molly and Ginny. It seemed that everyone else had gone home.

"Ginny, go call Harry. He needs to be here." Draco heard a pop as Ginny did what she was told. He ambled his way over towards the noise, his gait oddly arrhythmic as he favoured his broken right ankle. As he reached the door to the kitchen, he stopped in the threshold, waiting for the adults to stop bickering.

He saw his father in the doorway, his long blonde hair, now scattered with gray, glinting in the moonlight. His face was in the dark, and Draco couldn't see his expression. Arthur and Molly were standing before him, preventing his entrance into the house. Draco saw that no one was paying him any attention, so he stepped into the kitchen, and stumbled a little. His broken foot accidentally kicked aside a pot, and the loud clang of it falling muffled Draco's curse at the pain it caused him.

The trio near the door turned at the sound, and Lucius took the opportunity to step into the house, but he paused when he saw Draco. He let out a loud gasp, and at that precise moment, Harry Potter popped into the kitchen, accompanied by Ginny Weasley. Lucius turned to them, and pointed an unsteady finger at them.

"YOU! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SON?!" He didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he turned back to Draco, and ran over, his face etched with worry. Draco stood still as Lucius started patting his torso, seeing all the other damage that had been done. Draco chastised himself for not wearing a t-shirt. Hermione had removed his old, tattered one when she was healing the cuts. Now, all that remained to hide his battered body were his pants.

"Son, where else are you hurt? Did these people let you see a Healer? Have you eaten? Draco?" Seeing that Draco had not answered, Lucius stopped his flow of questions and looked up at his son, who was now a few centimeters taller than he was.

"Calm down father. I'm fine. And the Weasleys didn't do anything. This happened at work." Seeing that Harry was about to interrupt, Draco shot the man a look, silencing him.

"You're an Auror trainee, Draco! How hurt can you get? I want to know the truth."

Harry, ignoring Draco's glare, answered. "The truth is, Mr. Malfoy, Draco was working with McLaggen and Smith today in Diagon Alley, and –"

"And I stupidly went into Knockturn Alley. You know how the people there are, father. Just a couple of scuffles. Nothing major. All in good fun, really. Potter here, found me, and brought me here, where he let a healer check up on me. I felt a little tired, and so I thought I'd stay here until I felt up to going home. I'm sorry you were worried." He didn't even blink as he told his father this humongous lie. The Weasleys and Harry all shared a look.

Lucius studied Draco for a long moment, deciding if he should believe the rather sketchy story, or not. Finally, he sighed, and shook his head. "Draco, how many times have I told you not to go into that area. You know you can't trust those people."

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry father, I really am." Draco was starting to ache from standing up, and he hid a grimace as pain shot through his leg. Unfortunately, Lucius saw through his act, and decided that his son's health was more important than interrogating him.

"All right then. I'd like to have you back home, but obviously, you're in no condition to travel." He turned to the Weasleys, who still looked rather shocked at Draco's lie. "I- I'm sorry about my accusing you. If… If you don't mind, could…. Could my son-"

"Yes, of course." Harry butt in, saving Lucius from his humiliation. It was obvious that the man was infinitely uncomfortable in this situation. Nodding once to everyone as a goodbye, Lucius quickly left the home, giving one last backward glance to Draco.

"Take care, son. I'll see you in a while." Draco nodded as a reply.

As soon as Lucius was out of sight, Draco quickly wobbled to the nearest seat, a couch near the fireplace, and sat himself down heavily. He brought his leg up onto the couch next to him, grimacing all the way. He gingerly moved back his pant leg, and examined the swollen ankle.

"Ow. That looks painful, Malfoy. Hold on, I'll call Hermione." Ginny was about to take out her wand, but Draco stopped her.

"No need. I can fix it." Draco passed his left hand over the swollen ankle, and felt the tingling sensation as it healed. A second later, the ankle had stopped swelling, and although it was still broken, the pain was gone. Putting his leg back onto the floor, Draco turned to see Harry Potter seated on the couch across from him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Malfoy, are you telling me that you learned how to heal yourself without a wand too?"

"Like I said, Potter. In my house, we don't have the time to keep running back and forth between for our wands, and working for the Dark Lord meant a lot of injuries. Granted, I don't have as much control as I would with a wand, but it serves its purpose. You could probably do it if you practiced too." Harry rubbed his eyes, too tired to think at the moment.

"All right then. Malfoy, I have to talk to you about your training."

Draco focused on Harry, interested in what was going to happen to him now. _He can't fire me… at least, I don't think so._

"I know that you want to quit, but I have to tell you that if you were to stay, I would make sure that nothing like this would ever happen again. Granted, it isn't foolproof, and I won't be surprised if you decided you didn't want to stay- "

"Hold on. Who said anything about quitting?" Draco was shocked. What did Harry think he was, a moron?

"You mean, you aren't?"

"No! Look, Potter. I worked my arse off looking for a job, and now that I've gotten it, I'm not going to let it go just because some idiot decided to have a little cowardly moment of fame."

Harry realized at that moment just how much Draco Malfoy had changed over the years. The battered man before him was nothing like the pampered boy from third year, who had made such a big deal over a hippogriff incident. It would seem that he had finally matured.

"You know what Malfoy? I may just have to keep you…" Harry grinned the famous cheeky Potter grin.

"Right, Potter. Consider yourself lucky to have me." Draco smirked the famous Malfoy sneer in retaliation.

"Umm… Draco, would you like some soup? You didn't have any dinner." Draco turned to see Molly Weasley eying him uncertainly, and although he hadn't felt it before, he could now feel the claws of hunger ripping at his stomach.

"Yes, I'd love some." His reply was punctuated by a loud growl that erupted from his stomach. Turning red, Draco clutched a hand to his midriff, but it didn't help.

"Right then. I'll heat some up right now." Molly tried to hide her own smile as she chastised her daughter for laughing. Arthur Weasley, who had looked extremely sour after Lucius' visit, now cracked a small smile.

oOoOoOo

Draco stood in the Weasleys' living room the next day, from where he would floo home. The other Weasleys, even the twins, had come to check up on him, and Draco had been touched. Granted, they hadn't said anything to him, other than the occasional "move out of the way", but Draco knew that he was the reason they were here, and he appreciated it. They were all now crammed into the room with him, muttering awkward farewells.

His injuries were almost healed. His torso was still covered in bruises, but they didn't hurt as bad as they looked. His broken arm had mended, and so had his ankle. His eye was still a hideous purple, but Hermione had given him a tub of ointment for him to use. Draco knew he was never going to use it; the ointment had the most horrid smell. He would rather look like a panda than smell like one for the next few days.

"So… Malfoy. Are you going to leave any time soon, or are we going to be late for work?" Fred, who had spoken, was immediately smacked on the head by Ginny. When Draco gave her a smile in thanks, she didn't respond in like. _Oh well. You already knew this was going to happen. The only reason she even tolerated your presence at the party was because of the stupid Felix Felicis. Same could be said about everyone here, in fact. Should have known better than to hope for anything else. _

Draco turned to face everyone, but he did not have the courage to look anyone in the eye. He muttered a very quiet, awkward thank you, and threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace. "Zabini Manor", he said it loud and clear and as soon as the green flames appeared, he hurriedly stepped into them, stealing one last glance at the confused faces of the Weasleys.

"Did you hear that, George? He said Zabini, not Malfoy. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh, yes brother. Looks like there's-"

"More to the two of them than-"

"Meets the eye."

"Oh, shut it, you too. You know nothing about the man. And I don't think you should be talking Fred, seeing as none of your relationships with women have ever worked out; it seems to me like you're the gay one." Ginny's comments had the whole family struggling not to laugh, while Fred turned bright red.

Ron, who was always a little bit late, was still working out what happened… "Blimey, I didn't know Zabini had a manor…"

oOoOoOo

Draco accepted a cup of tea from Daisy, Blaise's house elf, as he sat in Blaise's lounge, which was a stark contrast to the rest of the manor. Whereas the other rooms had rather promiscuous paintings and severe furniture, Blaise had opted for his area of the manor to be completely over-the-top and luxurious. When it came to comfort, he spared no expense. Draco was now being swallowed by an overstuffed beanbag, which was the only seat close to the fire.

Blaise sat before him in a recliner, and was explaining to Draco the reasoning behind the odd interior decorations. "You know, all of these chairs are from muggle stores. They have so much better taste than we wizards do. We wizards regard anything pleasurable with deep suspicion."

Draco smiled at the statement; he knew that Blaise's ancestors were probably turning in their graves at the moment. Not only was their descendant a fairy, he was a muggle-loving fairy.

"So… I heard about yesterday. Tough luck, Draco. Though I heard that McLaggen and Smith are fired. That must be some condolence."

"Honestly, Blaise, I really couldn't give a damn what happened to those gits. I'm just lucky Potter came when he did. Otherwise, I'd be in St. Mungo's right now."

Blaise was quiet for a moment, contemplating the fact that Draco wasn't being a total whiney baby about the problem. "Yeah, you're right. So, are you still going to train? Knowing that something like this is perfectly likely to happen again?"

"What choice do I have? I can't live out the rest of my life at home; I'd die of boredom, not to mention that our situation wouldn't improve at all."

"You're still beating yourself up over that? It's not your fault, Draco… it's not even your father's fault! Your grandfather was the reason for your family's involvement with the Dark Lord, and now that's your grandfather's dead, you're left to deal with the consequences."

"It may not be my fault, but I can't go on living like this, can I? This… what happened with McLaggen and Smith is normal for me, Blaise. It used to be like that everywhere I went right after the war. It's not going to change, not unless I do something about it."

"And how is getting a job going to help you?"

"Not just any job. This job! I'll be working with _the_ Harry Potter, on a regular basis! If people see that he's willing to trust me, then maybe they'll leave me alone. Plus, I'll be an Auror, so they'd be stupid to try and harm me."

"How would they know that Potter trusts you?"

"He gave me the job, didn't he? I think that's trustworthy enough… at least, it should be. He wouldn't be a very good Head if he hired someone he didn't trust, would he? And everyone knows that Potter's one of the best."

"I still thi-" Blaise cut off when Daisy came back into the lounge, announcing that Blaise had company.

"Who is it?" Blaise asked Daisy.

"Master Nott and Mistress Greengrass, Young Master Zabini. They wish to see you right away."

Blaise shot Draco a quick sidelong glance, and noted that the blonde's eyes had gone wide. Draco was shocked. When the name Greengrass had been said, his heart had given an extra, rather painful, beat, and he'd stopped breathing. _No… not now. Not ever. I never wanted to see her again. Why me? Why always me?_ The pain of humiliation was still there. He couldn't look at her again… not without blowing up at her.

Blaise could see that Draco was upset, but he couldn't refuse Nott. Not without a valid reason, and something told him that Nott wouldn't accept the fact that Draco didn't want to see Astoria was the reason Blaise shunned him. Then again… why would Nott be with Astoria? Then it hit him. Of course! Blaise thought about telling Draco not to worry, but being a Slytherin, he wanted to watch his friend suffer.

"Lead them in, Daisy." Draco's head turned to Blaise so fast, that his neck cricked audibly. Blaise hid his smile behind a solemn face.

"Are you mad?!" Draco's words were fierce, but whispered, in case the words could be heard outside.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play games with me, Zabini! You know perfectly well that I don't want to see that… that..."

"Witch?" Blaise offered helpfully.

"It doesn't matter. The point is that I don't want to see her!" Blaise contemplated pleading with Draco to stop fussing over it, but he decided it would be much more effective to annoy him.

"Are you telling me that the great Slytherin Prince is afraid of one little girl from Beauxbatons? I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of it… normal people would just let it go… unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless you think that what she said was true?" Blaise looked at Draco expectantly, but the visitors took that moment to appear, and Draco was saved from having to answer anything. He knew that if he answered truthfully, the answer wouldn't be something that he'd be proud of.

"Hello, Blaise. we didn't know you had company. Otherwise, we would have come at a different time." Draco was shocked to see Daphne, not Tori, speak. Mistress Greengrass wasn't Tori, but Daphne. Looking over at Blaise, Draco could see that he knew all along. He wasn't surprised. Blaise always did take pleasure in making other people squirm. He suspected that the best part of being gay for Blaise was telling other people that he was.

Draco was brought out of his musings when he heard Daphne gasp loudly. Turning to her, he saw that she was looking at him, a horrified expression on her face. He realized what he must look like to her… wearing bloodied pants and an old, scruffy t-shirt of Charlie Weasley, his black and purple bruises vivid against the paleness of his skin.

"Malfoy, what happened?" Daphne asked, walking over to stand in front of Draco. Nott went over to Blaise and sat himself down next to him on the couch. His face was grim, and he shared a look with Blaise. Draco figured that he had already heard about the attack, since according to Ron Weasley, the whole Ministry of Magic had heard Harry yelling about it.

"Nothing major. Just a small fight." Draco, although he held no grudge against Daphne, wasn't too comfortable talking to someone who had been there at the ball. It was awkward knowing that she probably thought of him as the stuffiest stick in the mud.

"You look like shite. Obviously, it wasn't such a small fight. Either that or you bruise easily. Something tells me it's the first one."

"Look. It wasn't such a big deal. I'm trying my best to forget about it anyway."

Daphne looked put out at being spoken to like that, and Draco immediately felt bad. He was about to apologize when she started speaking again. "All right, sorry." She rummaged through her cloak's inner pockets and took out a small black tub. She unscrewed the cap, and extended her hand to Draco so that he could see the yellow paste inside the tub. He took the tub from her and sniffed at it experimentally. It was odourless.

"What is it?" he was hoping that it was what he thought it was.

"It's ointment. It'll make that bruise on your eye go away in an hour. You just have to make sure you don't wash it for that hour, though."

"Why do you carry one of these around with you?"

Daphne sighed, and smiled. "Tori's had her fair share of bruises. She was, and still is, the clumsiest little child you will ever meet."

Blaise gave a short laugh. "You might want to stop talking like that, Daphie. It makes you seem old."

"I'd rather seem old than immature, Blaise, and I told you to stop calling me that." Daphne went over to sit beside Nott, who immediately put his arm around her and gave her a small kiss, making her blush. Draco, who was now applying the ointment to his eye, smiled ruefully at the couple. It would seem that Nott, who had always been a pragmatic man, was not averse to public displays of affection when it came to Daphne. Nott saw Draco's smile and asked what was so funny.

"It's just that I would have never thought that the quiet Daphne and the cunning Theodore would ever get together." Daphne laughed while Nott looked amused.

"Neither did we, actually." Despite the fact that Draco was waiting for her to continue, Daphne did not elaborate. Draco assumed that while they were publicly affectionate, they were a rather private couple.

"So… what brings you to my humble abode?"

"I wouldn't call this humble, Zabini." Nott remarked, and then continued. "I wouldn't even call it an abode. Knowing that your mother's here makes it seem more like a brothel."

"Your mother's here, Blaise?" Draco asked. He was surprised. Whenever he had visited in the past, Mrs. Zabini had never been home, preferring to travel the world. He had only ever met her once, and that was at a formal function back when he was in Hogwarts. He had been around fifteen at the time, and his first impression of Blaise's flighty mother had not been a good one. She had looked gorgeous, as was expected of a part veela who happened to be a Metamorphagus. Although she couldn't be younger than thirty-five at the time, she had morphed into a twenty-year-old. When she first saw Draco, she made no secret of her attraction to him. Draco had to endure hours of squirming under her intense gaze, and provocative statements filled with innuendos, as Blaise sat by him, grinning the whole time. It was an uncomfortable first meeting, to say the least.

"Yeah, she is," Blaise said with a rather malicious smile on his face. He knew exactly how Draco felt about his mother, and he found it hilarious. He knew his mother could be rather overbearing, and he enjoyed 'setting' her on others. He could be very much a Slytherin in this aspect.

"Ah, I see…" Draco tried to say this nonchalantly, wanting to make sure that Blaise didn't know how truly uncomfortable he was with the notion.

"Anyways, Nott, you still haven't told me why you're here. Not that I mind of course. It's nice to have company other than Daisy. House elves are a double-edged sword. Their praise is all fine and well, but after a while, being called handsome a million times a day gets old. The novelty of it goes away, I'm afraid. Now, even if a cute guy tells me I'm handsome, it only serves to make me shudder."

The comments earned him a few odd looks, and a small sniff of contempt. Draco turned in his beanbag to see a portrait of Blaise's late grandfather, staring at his grandson with undisguised disgust. It was obvious that he disapproved of Blaise's sexual orientation.

"Blaise, haven't you gotten rid of that portrait yet?"

"Nope. I think the git had it permanently glued there." At this, the man in the portrait huffed in indignation, and promptly left the portrait. "Thank the Lord," Blaise muttered.

"Zabini, I came to tell you that Daphne and I've decided on a date." Draco was confused by the statement, until he remembered that Nott and Daphne were set to be married.

"Finally. I can't wait to dress you all up, Daphie." Blaise ended this statement with a very feminine squeal. "When is it?"

"August 17th of next year."

"Oh, really? So soon?" Blaise was being sarcastic. If they really married then, that would mean that the wedding wouldn't happen for a year and a half more. For someone like Blaise, who was looking forward to the festivities, the wait would be unbearable.

"Yes, I know. Theo and I aren't happy with it either, but Mother wishes to make it a grand affair, and that'll take some time." Daphne finished off with a scowl. Blaise on the other hand, absolutely lit up. His smile was that of a child who had just been given a million boxes of chocolate frogs for Christmas.

"You mean Mrs. Greengrass is planning? Oh, I absolutely adore that woman. Really knows how to throw a party, that one. Marvelous taste in clothes, too. I can't wait! Do you think she'd mind if I help with the plans? It will be amazing…" Draco tuned out the rest of Blaise's excited chatter as the man continued on about deciding on the perfect colour theme for the wedding, and if the cake should be vanilla or chocolate.

Draco turned his head to find Nott eyeing him carefully, and when the other man saw Draco looking, he raised an eyebrow. Being accustomed to this 'battle of the faces', Draco merely copied the expression. This was a customary method of conversation in the world of the upper class. The magical folks of good bearing did not speak to each other; they made faces at each other to communicate. Draco had always thought this extremely silly.

Nott suddenly grinned, leaving Draco suspicious; it seemed that the man had something up his sleeves. His hunch was proven correct a minute later.

"Malfoy, what would you say to cutting your Auror training short?" The abrupt question silenced the others' chatter. Draco was shocked.

"What? You want to fire me? Why? I haven't done anything!" Draco couldn't believe it. After all he had been through, he was being fired anyway.

"No, no. Not fire you. I mean to make your training period shorter. Instead of the original three years, I think one and a half years is sufficient. We really need the extra help, and it will teach the other gits who think like McLaggen and Smith that messing with our new recruits won't help their cause. Granted, this would mean that your training will be extremely difficult, but Potter thinks you can handle it. What do you think?"

Draco didn't have to think hard to find his answer. There was only one reason for him taking on this job in the first place: obtain the Malfoy honour again, and the sooner he became an Auror, the sooner that was going to happen.

"Yes, of course."

"All right then, that's settled. Looks like I killed two stones with one bird by coming here."

Draco smiled, glad to be one of the proverbial 'stoned birds' (**A/N:** LMFAO); it would seem that things were turning out for the better.

oOoOoOo

Draco stood in front of the full length mirror situated in guest bathroom of the Zabini manor. He had shed his ratty, borrowed shirt, and was examining his bruises. He had decided to take advantage of Daphne's paste, which had miraculously cleared away the bruise on his eye. He was now applying the ointment to the purple bruises on his torso. The reason for this wasn't vanity, but for his father. Draco did not want to have to deal with Lucius if he saw more of the bruises.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and Draco cursed himself for not having locked it. He turned around to behold the surprised face of Mrs. Zabini. She was clad in a black dress with a plunging neckline and a hem that barely covered her backside. Today, her hair was blonde, and in tight ringlets around her face. She looked beautiful, but Draco knew better than to trust her appearance. For all he knew, the real Mrs. Zabini had wrinkles covering her face, and a bad posture.

"Oh, hello." Draco repressed the urge to gag at the sultry voice. "Draco, was it? I haven't seen you around for a while." _Of course you haven't,_ Draco thought bitterly. _You're never around._ He moderated his voice to a polite but disinterested tone, and replied.

"I've been a bit busy to visit your son. It's nice to see you again." He lied through the skin of his teeth.

"Yes, yes. I myself have been a bit busy…" Mrs. Zabini trailed off, her eyes moving from his gaze to rake over his body, devouring him. Draco felt the foolish urge to cross his arms, in order to retain some dignity. He started like an animal when she advanced into the bathroom. He backed away from her, but when his hips came into contact with the sink, he knew he had no place to run to.

"Umm… Mrs. Zabini, I need some privacy, so could you-"

"What happened to you? What are those bruises?" She interrupted his question, ignoring him completely.

"I… er- I fell," he finished lamely.

"I see, I see." She extended her arm out, and Draco flinched visibly. She stopped her advance and turned her gaze to him, giving him a very malicious grin that was strikingly similar to Blaise's own trademark grin. Draco opened his mouth to protest, but the hand on his chest stopped him. He looked down to see a pale, slender hand with long fingers tracing his bruises. Mrs. Zabini's fingernails were long, and painted a bloody red, which provided a stark contrast against his purple, blotched skin.

"So… Draco, what have you been up to?"

"I… er… I" Draco, when he couldn't find anything to say, he quickly grabbed his t-shirt off the floor, and bolted out of the washroom, up the hallway, until he burst into Blaise's lounge, startling everyone in the room.

"Blaise, quick! Disable the guards, now!"

"Why?"

"I need to get out of here!"

"You're leaving?! So soon? What for?"

"Your bloody mother's creeping me out!" Blaise's eyes widened at the comment and he quickly muttered the password to his guards, and Draco apparated on the spot, back home to where he could relax. A few moments later, Mrs. Zabini sauntered into the lounge, and Blaise turned his angry gaze to her.

"Mother, how many times have I told you? Quit scaring away my friends!"

oOoOoOo

**A/N:** I absolutely love Blaise Zabini. His name is awesome, and I just adore gay men. xD This chapter is my favourites in that it is one of the few where I was truly happy with the writing.

I have to warn you readers that my updates will be slow for the next month, as I am mourning the loss of Adam Lambert. Not really, although he did deserve to win. I have to start studying for my exams (three weeks away!!!! ARGHHHHH!) and catch up on Britain's Got Talent (been hooked ever since Connie Talbot).

**Important:** There will be a major time skip next chapter. It will help move the plot along (yes, there is a plot).

Feedback: 3780 Hits - 51 Reviews

Written: 2009 - 04 – 04

Published: 2009 – 05 - 31

**David Fishwick:** Thank you so much for reviewing regularly!

**emLILYEVANS!** Yes, he is poor, isn't he? I wish I could give him a hug.

**Green1Eyed1Angel****:** Thank you for your review!

**Lady Grace of Masbolle****:** I hope there was no need for a warning this time. I didn't see anything major or worthy of one.

**Sweet Epiphany: **I wish I could talk to you about other pictures, but I haven't seen any recently. Have you got any for me? xD I wouldn't mind pictures of any other characters either =P

**Gotta-LOVE-Draco9****:** Sorry for being so slow, but I will explain to you tomorrow. I've had the worst weekend ever. I hate my house.

**OurLoveIsForever:** AWESOME REVIEW! IT MADE ME HAPPY TO READ IT! I was grateful for some actual, credible feedback. I'm glad you saw the pride.


	11. Money & Malarkey

The Model Son

~ Chapter Ten: Money & Malarkeys ~

**Dedication:** Dedicated to sudden urges (they're the best kind of urges)

A/N: I don't think I've ever said this, but I really, really appreciate all of you readers' reviews. Some of them really touch me, others help me with the plot, but all of them are cherished. Having said that, I received this amazing review from DraconisScorpius: "You are very good. I really do love your characterization. I truly like the way you make Draco. I would love to see an evil side, but I would assume that is all coming in due time. I will just sit back and enjoy the show. Keep up the marvelous work."

I just wanted to clarify to everyone (especially to DraconisScorpius) that Draco has not gone soft in my story. I would hate it if Draco were out of character. My Draco has not gotten any more pleasant, nice or anything of that sort. He has just become smart enough to know that he can't always bully everyone, or he would never get what he wants. Hope that enlightens some people.

_--------------------------------------_

_Last time…_

_Draco had accepted Nott's proposal of cutting down his Auror training to 18 months. It is now almost one year since that day. Draco has completed 12 months of training, and has 6 months more to go. _

_--------------------------------------_

Draco stepped out of the warm bath, and wrapped the black Turkish towel around his waist. (**A/N:** That was for you TheRealSlytherinPrincess) He walked over to the full-length mirror opposite the tub. The heat of the water had created mist in the bathroom, and the mirror had fogged up. Draco wiped his hand over the mirror, near where his face should have been reflected. The fog cleared to reveal a Draco who was much different from the Draco of a year ago.

His body had gone through the most changes, he supposed. Last year, people would have mistaken him for an anorexic, what with his ribs sticking out, and his skinny stature. Now, after a year of demanding training and grueling work, he had finally gotten his old physique back. He had muscles now, but he "wasn't overly buff, like a wrestler" as Seamus Finnigan had put it. Draco didn't know what that was, but took it as a compliment. He couldn't fathom why Finnigan was examining his body in the first place.

He had grown his hair out. Although it wasn't as long as his father's, the platinum blonde hair, now healthy and soft instead of the previously dirty, matted locks, went down to his shoulders. When he was training at the Ministry, he would tie it up in a small ponytail. Draco now pushed the dripping locks away from his face.

His face had also changed. The bags under his eyes were now gone. His lips, which had been chapped and dry, were now full and pink. Even his eyes had changed. They had gone from a dull gray to a striking, sparkling gray. There was a small scar near his right eyebrow, the only reminder of that torture session in Diagon Alley from a year ago. Draco traced the small cut, thinking about all that had happened since that horrible fight. All that had changed…

oOoOoOo

The day he had gone back to the Ministry after that horrible fiasco, the other Aurors had been more forgiving of his presence. There were still some jabs at his position, and no one had come up to him for a chat, but when the training started, everything of that sort had stopped. Draco had shocked everyone, even Nott, with his magical abilities. He had been asked to combat with other Auror trainees. Word had spread fast about his ability to duel well, and the other Aurors had come to the training room during their breaks to watch the sessions. Even Potter himself had come to watch. It had annoyed him, being a guinea pig for their amusement, but he bore it well… anything to get it over with.

That first day, he had felt overwhelmed. He had still been aching a little from the fight in Diagon Alley, but he wasn't going to let anyone see that. He had dueled with everything he had, and that had impressed everyone. Harry had gone around to the other department heads, waxing lyrical about his new prodigy, and rubbing it in their faces that he had known it all along, making sure that Draco never heard about it. Heaven forbid a Potter being content with a Malfoy.

Draco knew that the praise was well-deserved, but felt annoyed by all the attention, and at some points, resentful of the people. They had all acted so surprised! He hadn't been that bad before, had he? Sure, he had been just a bit too busy trying to show up Potter and his clan back in school, but he always had this much power. Draco finally concluded that had he focused more on studies instead of Potter and Co., he probably could have topped Granger, but there was no use crying over spilt potion.

The next few months saw Draco's situation slowly, but surely, getting better. The tremendous expectation of an Auror trainee, especially one whose training period was shorter (thus, harder), had taken its effects, and Draco had found himself sleeping twelve hours a day and eating three helpings of everything. The strenuous work out provided an outlet for his stress, and Draco started to become more and more like a young man. During those few days when he didn't have training, he would go over to Blaise's house, making sure that Mrs. Zabini was not home. He slowly got back into touch with the rest of the world, but he avoided Pansy Parkinson at all costs. Fortunately, she had yet to see her since that ball.

He got back into touch with Goyle, who had been extremely surprised by Draco's maturity – he didn't get pissed at the smallest losses anymore. When Goyle realized that the change would be permanent, he had adjusted his mind along with Draco's. It was what he did… follow others. Draco didn't mind terribly, because he rarely saw Goyle anyway.

Nott had become quite close to Draco over the course of the year. Seeing each other everyday for their training sessions had in a way, forced them to bond, and both were surprised when they found that they had much in common. They had always respected each other while in school, and that respect turned into like.

Of course, being friends with Nott meant having to see Daphne almost every day. Draco wasn't complaining, though. Whereas the old Daphne might have bored him, the new Daphne had gained confidence that could only be found from a healthy relationship, and this ensured for interesting conversation.

As Draco's friends increased, the Wizarding world had also started to notice him. The Daily Prophet, when they received wind of the rumour that Draco Malfoy was now an Auror trainee, had published a front-page article, Draco's enlarged face sneering in the middle, trying to expose all his bad deeds. Potter had been furious, and he had immediately ordered a press conference with all the rival publishers of the Prophet, including The Quibbler. He had ordered articles contradicting the Prophet to be written, and the very next week, the Wizarding world read an exclusive interview with Draco Malfoy and a few other ex-Death Eaters, answering questions about what it was like to be living under the shadow of their past in the present world.

People had been touched by what Draco had said – but not everyone. Some other readers accused him of exaggerating in the interview, but when the article was published, many other former Death Eaters had come forward to back him up. Other magical folks, who witnessed acts of discrimination against Death Eaters, also admitted what they'd seen. This effectively put a stop to any unbelievers.

Draco's mother had been frightened at first, when she saw that the Wizarding world was in an uproar over her son. However, when she saw all the support some people offered, she relaxed. She'd started to venture out of her room more often. Now, she spent a lot more time in the Manor garden, tending to her roses, and feeding the peacocks and grooming the stable horses. They were her companions, and she was happier than she had been in a long time. Draco knew that she would never be the same confident woman she had been before, but he was happy with the minor changes that had occurred. After all, that had been his goal for all of this.

Lucius Malfoy had reacted similarly, but he had been much happier than his wife about this newfound popularity of the Malfoy family. He had immediately taken advantage of it, and hosted numerous balls and parties in the Manor. Draco didn't mind, because he was able to see his father enjoying himself again. Lucius, little by little, steered away from the alcohol and isolation in his study, towards entertaining the Wizarding world once more with his money. He had even started to regain his power over the Ministry, but unlike before, when he had been foolish enough to manipulate that power, Lucius now treated the position as a privilege. He wasn't going to lose his head again.

As the months passed by, and Draco found himself being more and more accepted in society, he also realized something. He actually enjoyed being an Auror. Even though he was still in training, Nott would send him on small missions that weren't too important, just to get him in practice, and he loved every one of them. There was a certain nice feeling that comes along with helping out others, although he would never admit that to any of his friends. And the pay wasn't too bad, either.

oOoOoOo

Draco traced the scar over and over. It was (ironically) dangerously close to the shape of Harry's scar. The blonde had been the brunt of many jokes for months; the jokes normally included the words 'Harry Potter' and 'idol worship'. Draco knew the spell to remove the scar, but he had decided to keep it there, as a reminder of how much he had achieved, and as a motivation. Potter had also told him to keep it there, as it made Draco lose the license to call anyone 'scar-head'.

A small movement near his waist caught Draco's eyes, and he watched a silver tail adorned with spiky horns moved its way across his ribs. Draco smiled as he thought about the tattoo he had acquired a few months ago. It was a magical tattoo of, in Draco's opinion, quite a magnificent dragon. The tattoo shop he'd gotten it from was run by a muggle-born, and some of the images he offered were rather extraordinary.

Draco didn't really know what species of dragon it was, but the image has impressed him when he'd seen it in the shop's window on Diagon Alley, and although the creature looked rather metallic, he had decided he wanted the tattoo. He had asked the artist to make the tattoo mobile, resulting in a rather unpredictable body image. The dragon had a mind of its own; some days, it would be on his back, where it was supposed to be, and other days, it would be furled around his shin, visible to everyone. Even worse, once it moved somewhere, it was very difficult for Draco to convince it to move.

It was on one such unfortunate day when Hermione Granger caught sight of it. She had burst into laughter, her mirth so much that she ended up crying. Draco had been annoyed, and he tried asking her what was so funny, but to no avail. The only explanation he got was a vague statement that his beloved dragon was a character in a muggles children cartoon. Not knowing what a cartoon was, Draco had been unruffled, and so continued on with his life in blissful ignorance. He still received some weird looks, especially when he was in muggle London, but they didn't bother him.

Draco walked into his room, and began preparing for a day in. It was Saturday, and he didn't have a training session today. He planned to make the most of it by relaxing at home. He'd invited Blaise over so they could play a game of quidditch. Blaise was supposed to bring whoever wanted to participate along. Draco knew that Nott would probably be one of them, and that ensured Daphne as well. It would be a great way to let lose. Then later that night, he would visit the Burrow, to attend Teddy's birthday party. He already had the perfect present, all wrapped and ready on his bed.

Looking out the window, he could see that it was a sunny day. He donned a white t-shirt and a pair of cut-off jeans (he refused to call them man-pris, although Zabini delighted in the term). The ensemble screamed muggle, but they were the comfiest clothes he had, and he didn't feel like riding a broom with robes on. It could be damned uncomfortable if he didn't have the proper protection. As Draco stretched his hand out to grab his wand, something nearby caught his attention. It was his ring… the heirloom ring, which he never wore anymore. He had stopped wearing it because it only served to remind him of someone that he didn't want to remember.

Astoria Greengrass.

He hadn't seen her since that embarrassing night at the ball. He'd thought that he would have seen her at the balls he attended, but he had learned from the gossip of the upper class that Tori had gone to France to finish her education there. Draco didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed. A large part of him was happy that he needn't deal with her again, at least, for the moment. But a small part of him was sad that he couldn't show her how much he had changed. And therein lay the problem.

Initially, Draco had been furious and humiliated by Tori, but his attitude towards her comments about him had changed. He never stopped thinking about what she had said. He found himself pondering his life choices more and more, and whenever he had to make a choice between doing the responsible thing, and doing the enjoyable thing, Draco thought back to what Tori had said, and that would anger him into choosing the more fun thing. He never regretted those choices though; they really had been fun. And now, there was nothing Draco wanted more than to show Tori how he had changed. He had admitted to himself: he really wanted to impress her. He'd convinced himself though that it had nothing to do with attraction, and everything to do with ego.

His pride had been hurt by her rude assumption, and he wanted nothing more than to redeem himself. That bothered Draco though. Normally, he didn't give a fig about what someone as inconsequential as Tori thought of him. He would only worry if someone's opinion was going to derail his chances at getting what he wanted (as was the case with the whole wizard society thinking he was a loon). But for some reason, he cared what Tori thought about him.

But that didn't mean he liked her though. No, not at all.

oOoOoOo

Draco pounded down the staircase to the manor, excited to start playing quidditch, when suddenly he saw that there were guests. That alone would have stopped him in his tracks, since they rarely ever received guests, but when he saw who it was, he stopped mid-step, and had to hold onto the railing in order to stop from tripping. Sitting across from his father was none other than Mr. Greengrass himself. Draco was surprised. He may have seen Daphne frequently, but he rarely ever saw her father. What could bring him here?

He slowly advanced toward the pair and he could see that Mr. Greengrass had his head in his hands. The only way Draco recognized him was by his tall stature and his salt and pepper hair. As Draco approached, Mr. Greengrass raised his head, and Draco had to stop his mouth from falling open. Mr. Greengrass had bags under his eyes, the sparkle in his eyes was gone, and his shoulders were slumped. He looked like he carried the worries of a thousand men.

"Mr. Greengrass?" Try as he might, Draco couldn't keep the shock out of his voice.

Mr. Greengrass turned his head at the sound of Draco's voice. He offered Draco a weak smile before speaking. "Hello, Draco, it's nice to see you again. You should start calling me Garryth now. How have you been, son?"

"Fine, sir." Draco looked to his father for more explanation, but Lucius wasn't paying attention. He seemed to be pondering something. Draco turned back to Mr. Greengrass, who had his head back in his hands. Draco pitied the man. Not long ago, _he_ had looked much the same. He went and sat next to the older man, awkwardly patting his back. _Dammit, what am I doing? I can't comfort anyone! I don't know how._ "What's the matter, Mr.-er… Garryth?"

Mr. Greengrass let out a long sigh, and leaned back against the couch. "I don't know what to do anymore. I was so stupid!" At his vehement reply, Draco raised his eyebrows. "A couple of months ago, I invested heavily on this new product. It was a broom, supposed to be the fastest in the world; the best in the world. I was foolish, and I invested almost everything on it. The makers guaranteed good results, and I believed them. Turns out it was all for nothing. The broom was a mess. It had horrible response, and bucked madly. It didn't turn out well, and now, I've had to sell the house in order to keep even a little of the money. We have no home anymore. God, I was so foolish. Tomorrow, Tori is coming back, but she has no place to stay in. I don't have to worry about Daphne, because she has Theodore, but Tori… she's still a child. She shouldn't have to deal with this."

Draco sat in consternation next to the agonized man. The explanation was long and confusing, but he was sure he got the gist of it. It seemed that Garryth had been fooled by a sneaky malarkey. Draco knew about these trick deals. Sometimes even the smartest wizards couldn't help but fall for these promising products. The makers would pitch a product to interested investors and act as if it would be a good gamble. They would feed the investors lies but at the last minute, would bail with the money.

He also knew that there was no way to get the money back, not without having to pay for a lawyer. That would end up spending more money than Mr. Greengrass had. There really was no way…

"Mr. Greengrass, I assure you, whatever we can do, we will, to help you." Draco said, hoping to alleviate the look of doom from the older man's face. Whatever issues he may have had with Tori, Draco wasn't going to begrudge her father of that.

"That's very kind of you, my boy, but what can you do? I certainly can't ask you for your money." Seeing that Draco was about to argue, Mr. Greengrass continued. "No, no. I'm not asking for money. I just needed some advice."

Draco thought carefully, going through all aspects of Garryth's issues. If the man sued, the makers would undoubtedly find a way to sneak what little gold Garryth had out of his hands. If Garryth threatened them, the bastards would alert the authorities and somehow make it as if they were the victims. There was always the possibility of stealing the money back… it wouldn't be too hard…

Draco shook himself of the thought. He had just barely become good in the public's eye. He couldn't risk being caught stealing money; it would ruin everything that he had worked for. Sighing, Draco dragged his hand through his damp hair, ruffling the tidy locks. He couldn't think of anything at all. It was frustrating not getting what he wanted immediately, and even more frustrating that he couldn't do anything about it. And yes, he wanted to get that money back from those lying sneaks. It was now more about Draco's competitive nature, than anything else. He had all but forgotten the fact that the whole reason for getting back the money was for Mr. Greengrass.

Sighing heavily once more, Draco turned to Garryth. He didn't know if he was going to regret this or not, but it was the right thing to do. With that not so comforting thought in mind, Draco spoke the words that would most likely change his life for the next while. "Mr. Greengrass, I think the best thing for you to do now is to let things calm down before you do anything in retaliation. Having said that, I know you have no home, and I think that you should stay here at the Manor with us. We have more than enough room, and it will give us time to think about what you should do next." Draco sent a quick glance to his father to decipher his reaction. Lucius only nodded approvingly, giving his consent to Draco's plan.

Garryth Greengrass opened his mouth, his eyebrows furrowed, looking for all the world as if he were about to refuse the offer. He then chanced a look at Draco's face and promptly shut his mouth. Draco had his 'determined' face on; his jaw was set, his lips a thin line and his eyes narrowed, daring the older man to deny the invitation. Overall, it was a quite mulish expression.

The tired man sighed, and nodded his head. "Yes, of course. It would probably be the best thing I could do at the moment. But Draco, are you sure you want four extra people living in your manor? My family isn't exactly… easy to live with."

That last statement worried Draco slightly, but Malfoys do not take back what they said – ever. Besides… how hard could it be living with them? "That's not a problem, Mr. Greengrass. We would be delighted to play host to your family. I'm sure my mother could use some company around the house, especially when my father and I aren't home. And I assure you, we will do whatever we can to help you with your problem."

oOoOoOo

Draco knocked on the front door of the Burrow, a small smile lighting his face as he reminisced on all his previous visits to the dilapidated home of the Weasleys. (Draco hadn't failed to notice the irony in the fact that the Weasleys, who bred like rabbits, lived in a house titled the "Burrow"). It had become like a second home to him over the year. Of course, it hadn't always been like this. When he had come back to the house for the first time after his hazing session, it had been for an Order meeting. Harry had deemed it appropriate that Draco become a member seeing as he was such a promising Auror trainee. Draco couldn't care less, but hey – if it meant more trust, who was he to deny it?

The Order wasn't as busy as it had been five years ago, what with Voldemort gone and everything. However, there was still the worry of former Death Eaters who were trying to cause havoc among the reforming Wizarding community. Some of them were particularly nasty, victimizing helpless muggles, and eluding the Ministry's claws as easily as flies. There was also the added problem of lunatics who believed they could become the next Dark Lord. In short, the Order wasn't stupid enough to believe that just because Voldemort had been killed, all the evil in the world was gone. It was a never-ending cycle, the battle between good and evil. There was no good without evil, and although the Ministry of Magic may have relaxed in their efforts of capturing criminals, the Order had become as uptight as ever. Mad-Eye Moody may be dead, but "constant vigilance" echoed in the minds of all the members everyday.

And so, Harry had believed it would be best to have Draco join their ranks. Not only was he a good fighter, he had also been part of the dark side once, and he would know things that others didn't. Draco had been uneasy about it at first, not wanting to become a 'double-agent' as Snape had been. But then he realized something; who said he had to tell them everything he knew?

The Weasleys were uncomfortable having Draco in their house once more. It wasn't exactly a welcoming atmosphere for him. The disquietude was gone however, when the discussion between the Order members led to capturing former Death Eaters. Draco was eager to share his knowledge; of course, it wasn't for the "good of the people" exactly, but more for his own sake. The more the Order members stopped annoying him with the dirty looks, the better it was for his sanity.

He had taken out a map of the world, marked with many small, black 'X's'. The Xs stood for suspected Death Eater hideouts. The Ministry already suspected some of the places, but many were unheard of. Draco had gathered the secret information over the years just in case he needed to contact the fugitives when he needed help from old allies. Seeing that help from ex-Death Eaters wasn't going to be of use to him in the newly reformed Wizarding community, Draco had thought it would be of more use to turn the information in. He had made sure that Xs that hid the more important Death Eaters (important in that they were still of use to him) were hidden from the Order. No need to tell them everything, after all.

Three weeks after that one meeting, many of the Death Eaters still at large were caught and sentenced. Draco had been deemed "hero" by the Daily Prophet and although it had been worth it to see the sour expression on Ronald Weasley's face for a week, Draco really couldn't say that it was a good experience. It was incredibly annoying, having to answer the same questions repeatedly. Soon, the Daily Prophet reporters became tired of trying to weasel out any answers from the silent blonde, and they went on to bigger and better things. There were still the occasional outrageous articles (many of them exaggerated columns about Draco's female conquests), but nothing noteworthy.

Now standing before the familiar front door, Draco couldn't help but marvel at the differences from before and now. Of course, there were still some off moments, especially with Ronald and Percy Weasley, but he gets along well with the rest of the family. If Draco had to choose a favourite Weasley, it would probably be Ginny Weasley – make that Potter (he tried not to think about their marriage… in his mind, it was such a shame that a smart girl like Ginny had to go and get hitched to Potter-the-Prick.)

The female redhead shared his own sense of humour, and the two of them often delighted in making sarcastic remarks about the rest of the family, much to the disgruntlement of Ron who felt betrayed. Draco had to be very careful about how he acted around Ginny though. Harry had proven to be a very jealous and territorial husband. It was all rather amusing to Draco, who had never really cared about a woman enough to feel jealous.

The door opened and Draco didn't have any warning before two slim arms wrapped around his neck in a death grip that was probably meant to be a hug. His vision was blurred by blonde hair and he had to try hard not to topple over. A moment later, the hair left his vision to be replaced by the smiling face of Gabrielle Delacour. "Draco!"

"Gabrielle? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I graduated Beauxbatons. I am now planning to work at the Owl Emporium in Diagon Alley."

"Wow, that's… nice." Not knowing what else to say, Draco sidestepped Gabrielle and walked into the house. What _could _you say to someone who voluntarily chose to scoop up owl droppings daily? He was confused momentarily when he saw no one in the house.

"Everyone's in the backyard. Come on." Draco let Gabrielle lead him outside. He frowned at her hand on his forearm. She always was a little bit bossy, just like her sister.

Entering the backyard, Draco saw Teddy Lupin laughing raucously and tumbling on the grass, at the mercy of Victoire's tickling hands. His head moved in Draco's direction and he froze. "Uncle Draco!" He escaped Victoire's clutches and ran into his uncle's open arms.

Draco noted how the boy had grown taller over the year, and that he was getting heavier to hold. Soon, it would be impossible for Draco to carry him. He had matured over the 'blue-hair' phase, and had changed to purple hair. It was what 'big boys do'. No one had the heart to tell him that purple was a rather feminine colour.

"Hey, Teddy!" The frown on Draco's face had been transformed into an affectionate smile. As much as he would deny it, he adored the little boy to no end. Something about the innocence of children was very endearing. For someone as cynical as Draco, it was nice not to have to wonder if Teddy was going to use him, or backstab him in any way. The little boy just wanted his fun, and yes, he could be difficult at times, but he knew no better. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Nothing," Teddy said, with as much an innocent face as he could muster up. _Yeah… okay, buddy._ "But Grandma isn't here today! She wasn't here last time, either!" The boy kicked his legs out in his frustration.

"Ah… that's too bad." Although secretly, Draco was very glad. He didn't know what he would do if he had to confront Andromeda any time soon. Too much awkwardness. "So… how's Vicky? You got anywhere with her yet?" Draco was immensely satisfied when he saw the blush spread across the boy's face.

"Uncle Draco! You know I don't like girls!"

"Yet." Draco cackled evilly. Oh, it was such fun to corrupt little ones. As long as a certain _someone_ didn't find out about it.

"Draco Malfoy, what do you think you're doing?" a female voice shrieked behind him. _Speak of the devil._ Draco turned slowly to come face to face with Mrs. Weasley.

"What do you mean?" His innocence put Teddy's to shame.

"You know very well just what! You will stop adulterating the boy at once." Her voice turned into a conspiratorial whisper. "Just because _you_ are a womanizer, it doesn't give you the right to turn Teddy into one." Her harsh words were softened by the twinkle in her eye. Draco smiled unashamedly at her and walked with her to the group of people congested around a small round table.

"Malfoy, come here. I'm having a debate with Hermione here, and she won't accept that the goblins are really up to something." Ginny Weasley gestured to him, the glint in her eyes suggesting that she was going to enjoy this next conversation. Draco agreed with the sentiment.

"Really, Granger," he admonished. "I knew you were naïve, but not that naïve. Haven't you heard all the rumours?" He joined in the conversation with his own remarks.

oOoOoOo

Draco sipped a warm cup of tea as the adults relaxed and chatted in low tones, glad to be rid of the younger ones. All but one of them. Teddy was currently sitting on Draco's lap, contently playing with the birthday present Draco had given him. It was an illustrated book about the second war, with surprising attention to detail. Molly had stared reprovingly at the book, but Teddy was immediately taken with it. He couldn't understand some of it, but the pictures were helpful.

Draco took the chance to peek over the little boy's shoulder to see what he was reading about now. He felt his heart wrench – something that did not happen often – when he saw that Teddy had turned to the page devoted to Remus and Nymphadora Lupin and their efforts in the war. The page contained a large picture of the couple in front of a small house, the woman holding a small baby with green hair. They were smiling blissfully, occasionally waving and mouthing hellos to their audience.

Draco watched as a small hand – Teddy's – traced over the silhouette of the woman. His heart went out to the little boy in his arms but he had no idea what to do. He couldn't offer words of comfort when he could barely comprehend this type of loss at such a young age. At that moment, Teddy let out a small, but noticeable yawn.

"Okay, buddy. I think that's enough for today." Draco was surprised to hear that his voice cracked the tiniest bit. Damn, he must be more tired than he'd thought. "Let's put this away." He gently pried the book out of unwilling but too-tired-to-argue hands, and set it down on the coffee table. "Now, I think it's time for you to get to bed."

"But I don't want to. I want to stay here with you," the boy's pleading was bordering on hysteria and Draco knew better than to push it. He shushed Teddy, and assured him that he could stay with the adults. As the boy settled into his temporary bed, Draco quelled the urge to sneeze as the purple hair tickled his nose. Finally, Teddy stopped his shuffling and let out a small snore that signaled a light sleep.

Draco smiled down tenderly – though he would be horrified if the words 'Draco' and 'tender' were in the same sentence – at his charge for the night. It was nice to have someone trust him so completely. His colleagues, his family, the whole magical community had preconceived notions of him because of his family, his job or his past actions. Teddy didn't have a clue about who Draco Malfoy was, other than his uncle, and he hadn't known Draco in the past. Yet he still accepted him… not for his money, nor for his social standing, but because of his personality. Draco had to admit, he didn't have much of one, but if it made Teddy happy, then he supposed it wasn't hopeless.

"You've been quiet all night, Malfoy. What have you been up to?" one of the Weasleys inquired. He couldn't figure out which one. They all looked so similar, with pale skin, red hair and a freckle count to rival that of the human population. But this one had tattoos… that was Charlie, right?

"Haven't been up to much of anything, actually. Just training…" he said in a semi-whisper so as not to wake Teddy. He debated if he should he tell them about the Greengrasses. They were bound to find about it soon. Heck, the Daily Prophet probably already knew. "Actually, Garryth Greengrass paid a visit this morning to the Manor."

"Oh really? I heard about the problems he's been having… the goblins are threatening to eradicate his account at Gringotts. It seems he can't pay for the extra securities that he has," the brother with the ponytail put in. Draco rather liked that one… must be the hairstyle. If anyone had the same taste as him, he was already deemed acceptable in his books.

"Why? What happened?" Granger asked. Suddenly Draco was the center of attention, everyone wanting in on the juicy details. Draco considered not telling them about it as it was none of his business, but news travelled fast, and they would probably hear about it in some way or other, probably in an unflattering manner as well.

"He got into some shady deal with broom creators. They tricked him out of all his money."

"Oh, you must be talking about that Selwyn case. Yeah… the ministry's been having a horrid time trying to solve it," Potter spoke up.

"Why would the Ministry involve themselves with it? From what I've heard, they didn't actually do anything illegal. The contract was written so that the blame wouldn't be on them."

"Too many people were affected by the deal for it to be ignored."

Draco didn't bother to point out that having the Ministry involved would only make things worse. Teddy shifted in his arms, his tiny hand clutching a fistful of Draco's shirt and choking him just a little bit. Draco gently pried the fingers away from him only to have them clinging to his hand. It was more comfortable at least. Teddy smiled in his sleep and Draco wondered suspiciously if the boy was just being difficult. _Brat_, he thought with a smile.

Granger spoke up again. "Why was he at your house? I would think he'd be too busy trying to get his money back."

"He and my father are pretty close," Draco said, ignoring the grimaces from half the Weasleys at the mention of Lucius. _How immature._ "He wanted some advice."

"And?"

"I volunteered for his family to stay with ours."

There were murmurs abound as the news sunk in. Draco caught a few of them.

"Wow. Houseguests in Malfoy Manor? Traumatizing…"

"I thought Malfoys weren't supposed to be gracious…"

"What's in it for you?" a very brave soul asked. Of course, it had to be Longbottom.

Draco considered the question more carefully than he normally would have. Really… what was in it for him? Immediately, a picture of a black-haired, blue-eyed someone came to mind, but Draco brushed that away. There were other reasons, to be sure. Not that _she _was a reason, of course. Maybe it was to assure his conscious. Draco dismissed that thought with a laugh. That was probably the least from the truth.

Potter saved him from having to find an answer. "Hold on. Wasn't Greengrass the one that sent you that recommendation?"

Draco nodded… he'd forgotten about that. "Yeah, it was. So you see, it's a matter of honour. Malfoys do not forget." He ignored that nagging feeling at the back of his mind calling him a liar. It was an acceptable excuse, and he'd take anything he could get.

"Oh. I see." Granger's solemn face was suspiciously tight… especially that twitch near her jaw – she was trying hard not to laugh, he could tell. Draco wisely chose to ignore it as well.

"Well, that's settled then. Everyone, tomorrow, we're off to Malfoy Manor!" a jubilant Molly Weasley announced.

"What?" Draco tried not to sound too harsh when he barked the question.

"Oh, Draco. You must realize, these poor people are probably in need of a good get-together! They've been through so much! We should all be there to welcome them, don't you think?!"

_No… no, you shouldn't! _Draco tried very hard to repress the shudder that went through him when he imagined the Weasleys at his beloved Manor. _Oh my._ He could just see it now. So many red heads… so little space. His house stood no chance. In his head, he saw the Weasleys assembled in his receiving room… all of them piled on top of each other in order to find a seat. He envisioned the younger ones hanging off the banisters and chandeliers, house-elves running around, trying to repair all the damage done. _Oh dear, sweet God._

"Yeah, it would be fun!" Fred put in. Draco zeroed in on him, trying to figure out what he was up to. The way Fred's eyes gleamed and the way he exchanged glances with his twin let Draco knew exactly what type of fun would be happening tomorrow.

"Absolutely not!" he said firmly.

"But why?" George groaned.

"Yeah! Why? You have anything to hide, Malfoy? Any remaining dark objects the Ministry hasn't gotten a hold of yet?" Ronald, who had voiced the question, narrowed his eyes suspiciously, only serving to anger Draco.

"No. I have nothing to hide. I merely have trepidations about allowing so many people into my home."

"Really? Seems awfully fishy to me. Are you sure you have nothing to hide? Nothing at all?" Draco knew the The Weasley Prat was only trying to annoy him, and he knew he shouldn't fall for it, but he was pissed.

"You know what? Whatever. I don't care. Just come. Conduct a bloody search if you want! I don't give a damn." Teddy stirred in his arms, disturbed by the noise, and Draco worked hard to calm himself.

"Excellent! I've always wanted to see a Death Eater Manor." Fred grinned, satisfied for the moment.

Draco rolled his eyes at the immaturity surrounding him. Tomorrow was going to be hell.

oOoOoOo

5800 Hits - 69 Reviews

**A/N: **Okay, brace yourself, this is going to be long. If you don't want to read my moaning and droning, you don't have to. Just skip to the last three paragraphs. They're the only ones with any importance.

First of all, I would say sorry to have disappeared off the face of the planet for so long, but I'm not. I was supposed to start re-updating as soon as summer started, but I had virtual school, and even when I did have time, I wanted to enjoy my summer. I'm glad I did so, because I've finally got the chance to relax after one very stressful year.

Anyway, to make up for it, I'll updated two chapters in one day. This probably won't happen again, and seeing as I haven't written any of the others, the next one may take a while (not as long as this one, probably).

By the way, what did you guys think of HBP? I watched it in theatres with my friends, and thought it was fabulous. I got totally excited with all the hype over it, and nearly hyperventilated on the phone with Gotta-LOVE-Draco9 when I heard that Tom Felton was here in Toronto promoting it. To think, he was mere kilometers away from us! Oh my God, I could have died. xD He was here for only one day though, but he did three different shows. One of them aired live on MuchMusic, another one was for a small skit and the last was sort of a 'Movie Interview' thing that's been aired like ten times. The hilarious thing is that he's wearing the same clothes in all of them.

Sadly, I don't think he'd ever come back. On MuchMusic, some girls ambushed him, and all you could hear was "whoa!" amidst all the squeals for about ten seconds. Poor guy was probably traumatized. His first and last visit to Toronto. Maybe he'll visit some other province. Or maybe that's just wishful thing

Then I watched the movie, and I really liked it. It was honestly one of the few films that was _as_ good as the book (then again, it's been a while since I read HBP). They added bits here and there, and they took out some major parts that I was excited to see, but the comedy was great. I have become a fan of Rupert Grint now. I should watch some of his other movies. Cherrybomb seems interesting. By the way, who things Freddy Stroma was too good-looking for Cormac McLaggen? It made me not want to hate him. xD Alan Rickman was AWESOME. "Yes… I AM THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE". =)

Sorry about that. I had all that vent up enthusiasm and had to release it somehow. Anyways, the night of the day I watched the movie, a new plot bunny came to me, and I've started a new story. It's not going to be up on fanfiction for a while. I want to wait until I have more of it written when I put it up. It's a Dracoria as well.

And finally, the one thing I have to add is that I'm going to sort of change my tact with writing this story. I've been taking myself waaaaay too seriously, and I've been too focused on trying to make it good (to make sure you guys would like it). That's probably not a good thing. That's why I've decided that I'm going to just start writing what I want to write and not worry about your reactions. Hopefully, some of you may still like it. =) That's all. Please don't hold it against me for taking so long.

I'll have the next chapter up shortly. I still have to tweak it a little bit. By the way, I am in big need of a beta. I went through like three betas and still haven't found anyone who has enough time to edit my chapters. Anyone interested?

-------------------------------------------

Thanks to…

**OurLoveIsForever:** I'm sorry for not reviewing your story for so long. I'm actually rather confused with all the twists in what I _have _read. So I'm going to wait until you finish the story and then read it all over again to clear up any confusions. Hope that's okay! I'll review every chapter, though!

**emLILYEVANS: **I did read your new story THE BRIDGE, and I did review it, but I don't know if you got it. I reviewed using my iPod touch, and I don't know if my wi-fi connection was good enough for it. Hopefully it was. If you don't have a review from me, please let me know, so that I can review again!

**SweetEpiphany**: Forget drawings! Have you seen all the pictures from the premiere? THEY'RE AWESOME! Plus, if you check out Tom Felton's twitter, he has pictures of himself from a photo shoot he did for GQ UK. He has brown hair in them, and he is hawtness (with an "aw") incarnate.

**christy86**

**Green1Eyed1Angel**

**DraconisScorpius: **Thank you for that wonderful review. You make me proud to write!

**Ziva:** God, you're making me blush! Thank you for that! Such a sweet review.

**Gotta-LOVE-Draco9:** Okay, are you like, on vacation? I've been calling for the past four days, and no one's picked up! I'm planning another Movie Day. We all want to see G. I. Joe this time. Are you coming or what? By the way, hope you're happy with this.

**FYInichole:** Oh dear. You don't like Tori, do you? She's coming back in the next chapter, and please don't hate her. It's just her personality. She'll mature a little bit.

**ElaineAbbene**

**  
JennyMc**

**gt4good: **I think he's on the right path too. Just hope he doesn't veer off it anytime soon.

**TheRealSlytherinPrincess: **Sweetheart, I am in love with you. Your reviews are the reason I came back to write. They're so amazing. You make me want to write because you remind me that there are other people waiting for me out there. Thank you so much for the inspiration. And I will never hate your reviews. Please continue to read my stories.

And since you took the time to review so well, I'll take the time to answer your questions. Thank you for telling me my stories are funny. I never thought of it that way. I was actually going for humour, but I didn't want to classify it as humour because what if it wasn't funny? Then I'd just look like an idiot.

And yes, it was MCR as in My Chemical Romance. Haven't really listened to them much, so I didn't know.

Manizer is an awesome word. I want to make it an actual word… =P I don't have a favourite Weasley. I'm stuck between Bill, Charlie, Fred, Ron and Ginny. They all have their merits.

I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU CALLED BLAISE A SEXY STALLION. That made my day! It was hilarious! Sorry for the un-hardcore Dracoria action, but you'll see a little bit next chapter. And don't worry about being a smutty fangirl. I am a closet smut fan myself. =P Not so closeted now, is it? YES, I ADMIT IT. I AM A SECRET SEX-ADDICT. Not really – far from it. I just really wanted to type that for the fun of it. More like smut-addict. You shall forget I said that.

I have the same problem with spelling names… I keep spelling Victoire as Victorie.

Since you seem so keen on envisioning Draco naked, that little bit at the beginning was for your enjoyment. You can forget the black towel, if you want to =D

"Or be square" is a stupid idiom – come to think of it, it's not even an idiom – is it? There are a lot of them out there, and none of them make any sense. If you want to figure them out, you could probably search it up on Google – under etymology, or something similar. P.S. stands for post script. That's self-explanatory enough, so I won't bore you with the detail.

**Rachel:** I didn't leave you hanging. Yaaaay!


	12. Clashing Thunder

The Model Son

~ Chapter Eleven: Clashing Thunder ~

**Dedication:** Dedicated to thunderstorms, and power outages. They provide the best environment to write in (seriously).

Warnings: The usual vulgarity.

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_Last time…_

_Draco has asked that the Greengrass family, who have sold their house in order to pay off debts, stay in Malfoy Manor to get back on their feet. The Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, Blaise and Nott will come over to the Manor to help welcome the family home. _

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Draco awoke to a cacophony of noises outside his bedroom. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and sat up in bed. He stared out the window. It was, as typical of Wiltshire, raining heavily; yesterday's sunny weather had been a freak occurrence. Draco stood and padded barefoot across his bedroom. He donned a robe to cover his bare chest (he preferred to sleep only in pajama pants, since the Manor could be very hot at nights, even in the midst of winter).

He opened his bedroom door to see a rather peculiar sight. He thought he was imagining all the sounds that had woken him up, seeing as no one was there. Then he looked down. He saw about five house elves, each at a different part of the corridor, dusting, sweeping and polishing everything in sight. Mattie herself supervised them. Draco remembered with a groan that the Greengrass family would be coming today. Yesterday, he had felt so sure, and felt so helpful when he told them they could stay. Now, he regretted it. Would he be able to handle all the extra people in his house? He was very private.

Draco looked over at Mattie. She was talking with Salus, and Draco had to hide a grin. The two house elves had performed the 'mating ceremony' of the house elves six months ago, and Mattie was now the proud mother of a female house elf, who was about three months old. Her name was Tipsy, and Draco himself had suggested the name. He had named her because when she started walking (all house elves start walking a week after they're born), she had the tendency to sway, and look like a drunk.

Draco beckoned Mattie over with a hand motion. She hurried over to him with a concerned expression. "Young Master sir, I'm sorry if we have awoken you, but we're under the strict order to clean up the whole Manor in an hour."

"Who gave you the order, Mattie?" Draco yawned, and almost missed what Mattie said.

"Mistress Malfoy did, Young Master sir." Draco smiled. His mother had finally taken interest in the goings on around the house. Granted, it was a small thing, but it was a thing, at least. _She must want to impress everyone. Ahh… Mother… always the perfect hostess. _

"Oh, all right, Mattie. How is the cleaning going?"

"It's going according to schedule, Young Master sir, but it's difficult for us, cleaning the Manor in such a short time."

"Hmm… I see. What time is it, Mattie?" Draco was still slightly sleepy, and didn't feel like taking his wand out to check.

"It's almost ten, Young Master sir." Mattie looked curiously up at Draco, wondering why he had slept so late. Normally, he was up at six o'clock, sharp. Draco himself wondered the same thing. It must have been the quidditch from yesterday. Then the elf's words really sank in.

_Shit! It's already ten! The Weasleys are coming at eleven!_ Draco, very unceremoniously, slammed the door in Mattie's face and practically ran to his washroom.

oOoOoOo

"MAAATIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Draco's call resounded throughout the Manor.

The house elf ran into his room, a hassled expression on her face. When she saw Draco standing in his room only in a towel, holding out a clothing item in each hand, she relaxed.

"What is it, Young Master sir?"

"I can't decide what to wear!" And it was true. Normally, he wouldn't care, but today was an important day. He couldn't decide if he should wear robes, or muggle clothing. If he wore robes, he would look elegant, but pompous. If he wore muggle clothes, he would look a bit unkempt, but more friendly. He didn't know which would be better in this situation. What exactly did one wear when welcoming houseguests? Draco was sure he knew the answer from hospitality lessons he had taken as a little boy, but he couldn't remember in his stress.

"Young Master sir, where what you feel most comfortable in." This new side of Draco amused Mattie. She knew about his feelings when it came to the Greengrass family, and she found it odd because normally, Draco was cool and collected about everything.

Draco examined each outfit carefully, his expression that of a man who was contemplating the fate of nations around the world. To Draco, it was just as important. After much scrutiny, he finally decided on the muggle outfit. He knew that it might strike a chord with his father for choosing to dress like that, but he wasn't going to allow his father to dominate his wardrobe, at the least.

Mattie took her leave, and Draco changed into his outfit of choice: a dark green dress shirt and his favourite grey slacks. He tied his wet hair into a lose ponytail. Having gained his father's genes in the hair department, Draco's hair was as straight as a stick, and would remain so even after it dried. As he was about to leave, he caught sight of the grey ring, still on his bedside table. Sighing, he picked it up and fingered it. Acting on impulse, he slid the ring onto his finger, and walked out of his bedroom.

oOoOoOo

It was now five minutes to eleven and Draco sat in a wingback chair facing the fireplace in the Manor's lounge. He stared at the smouldering embers of the fire, his head full of thousands of questions. One recurring question was will there be problems living with the Greengrasses? Draco was fond of his Manor. Sure, it wasn't exactly the coziest of homes, but it had been in his family for a few centuries, and it had survived many of the trials and tribulations of the Malfoy family. He wasn't sure he was willing to allow a new family to wreck it…

At exactly fifteen minutes after eleven, the wards in the Manor changed, and Draco sensed (magically) that he had visitors. He got up from his seat and walked over to the front doors. Before he could get there, two of his house elves, Knotty and Mousy, opened both doors. To the people outside, it looked like a rather dramatic opening, which revealed Draco Malfoy standing farther off, inside the sparkling glory that was his home.

Draco had to admit, the house elves had done an amazing job. In a mere matter of hours, they had managed to sweep the entire Manor, so the dust that had collected over the years was all gone… even the dust from the tiny nooks and crannies. They had polished everything in sight, even the chandeliers. Draco still didn't know how the tiny little elves could reach all the way up there, but had a vague image of them piling on top of each other in a pyramid, until the top one could reach the chandelier. It was certainly possible… Malfoy Manor was home to at least sixty house elves. The Manor now looked open and welcoming, especially since curtains that had long been closed had been opened to reveal the light coming in from outside. Although, there was very little sun, seeing as it was still raining heavily. Draco couldn't remember the Manor ever looking so well-cleaned, not even during the balls and soirees that his father had held, before _and_ after the war.

Draco snapped out of his wayward thoughts and paid attention to the group assembled at the door. They were wet from the rain and some of them were starting to shiver. "Come in, everyone." He waited for them to step in, but none of them moved. Draco saw the amazed looks on their faces, and had to try hard not to smirk. It must be overwhelming for them, coming from such a cozy home to this mansion. An awkward silence fell, as no one was willing to say anything. Fred was the first one to get the nerves to say something.

"Malfoy, you have _albino peacocks_!" The look on his face was one of incredulity. To someone like Fred, there was absolutely no reason to own a peacock, never mind _albino_ peacocks. Of course, Draco didn't feel the same way.

"Oh, yes, they like the rain, and tend to come out of their homes during then. So do the horses. You probably saw one or two grazing."

"Is that what they were? I thought they were unicorns, they were so white!" Ginny had an excited look, and Draco remembered that she liked horses. Such a _girl_.

"Well, you weren't far off. They're crossbreeds between unicorns and Arabian horses. They're as beautiful as unicorns, but less shy." Draco walked over to the family, and beckoned them in, seeing as they were unwilling to come in. Slowly, they all stepped into the threshold. Draco ushered them all into the lounge, where thankfully, there were enough seats for them all. He waved his wand over them, and soon, they were all dry. They smiled gratefully at him. Well most of them. Ron was too busy looking around and trying to figure out any possible hiding places for dark artifacts.

Every member of the Weasley family, except for Charlie, was there, along with Bill's family (Fleur and Victoire) and Percy's family (Audrey and Molly). Harry, Hermione and Nott were also there, Blaise no where in sight. He was probably too busy trying to figure out which pants to where… either that or he was recovering from a hangover from all the booze he'd drunk last night. In total, there were an astounding eighteen people in the house. Draco didn't think his house had ever sheltered so many redheads. Everyone seemed happy to be there, all except for Ron and Percy, of course. Even Audrey seemed content, to the unhappiness of her husband.

All of a sudden, Draco was attacked by a mob of purple hair. Teddy Lupin had also come to the Manor, it seemed. Draco laughed and pried the tiny, but strong arms away from his neck.

"Uncle Dragon! What present did you get me today?" Teddy had never forgotten the fact that Draco's namesake was a dragon, to the disgruntlement of Ron. He had taken to calling him Dragon. Draco had acquired the habit of buying him presents every time they saw each other. He spoiled him every chance he could, and whenever he was alone with him, he would teach him about the war. Although Teddy was incredibly curious about the second war, his whole family wanted to shield him from the goriness until he was older, and could understand more. Draco thought it was bullshit. Hence the reason for his choice of birthday present.

"Hmm… I didn't know you wanted anything, Teddy. Tell you what, if you're a good boy, I'll let you ride my horse. Okay?" Teddy nodded eagerly, and then a thoughtful look came over his face.

"Uncle, guess what! Grandma came today!" Teddy wiggled out of Draco's arms and ran to a corner of the lounge, coming back a few moments later, Andromeda Tonks holding his hand. Draco was shocked. He had rarely ever seen his aunt, and when he had, he never talked to her. There was too much that had happened between his family and her… too much to overcome.

"Hello, Draco. It's nice to finally see my nephew." Andromeda gave him her hand, her face carefully guarded as he shook her hand. Draco tried to say something, but at that moment, his parents walked down the stairs from the second floor. Lucius Malfoy looked distinctly uncomfortable, but Narcissa looked even worse. She was biting her lip profusely, and worry lines etched her face. As soon as she saw Andromeda with her son, her face blanched of all colour, and she looked as if she were about to faint.

"Andromeda…" she breathed, and it was barely audible. Suddenly, to the astonishment of everyone in the room, Narcissa hitched her robes up, and ran pell-mell towards Andromeda. She was a mere foot away when she stopped. Draco moved away from the two women, taking Teddy with him. Narcissa threw her arms around her sister and hugged her tightly. Andromeda was shocked. There was no other word for it. Her mouth had dropped open, and her arms were handing limply by her sides.

Suddenly, to the embarrassment of everyone, Narcissa burst out bawling. She let out a few wails, before hiccupping. She tried to muffle her voice in her sister's shoulders, but it wasn't working. Andromeda got over her shock, and rather awkwardly started patting her sister's back. Narcissa started to say something, but it sounded like babble to Draco. He caught a few words, though.

"B-b-Bella! She's g-gone! Andy, I-I've b-been s-so s-s-scared!" Draco noticed that the rest of the guests were trying look everywhere but at Narcissa. Her wails didn't help this, though. Lucius looked harried, and his hands kept twitching. Draco knew that his father wished to comfort his wife, but having been away for five years had unfortunately changed both of them and now, his father didn't know what would comfort his own wife. Draco didn't bother trying. His mother needed this.

Andromeda tried to calm her sister down. "Shh, Cissy, this isn't proper. It'll be okay… calm yourself!" But it was no help. Narcissa wouldn't cease her crying. Andromeda quietly led her away from the lounge, towards a room in the back of the Manor, all the while saying "It's okay… shhh…. It's okay."

Soon, the two women were out of sight and hearing, leaving the group in an uncomfortable silence. Even Teddy and Victoire looked like they had no clue what to do. Little Molly was asleep in her mother's arms, not yet privy to the dramas of the Malfoy household. Draco tried to think of something to say, but the silence was overwhelming in its loudness. It was only made worse when he caught sight of his father and Arthur Weasley sharing a rather intense look. Draco couldn't decide whether it was hostile or not. Suddenly, Lucius spoke.

"Welcome to our home. I hope you enjoy it here. I don't think our house has ever held so many… Weasleys." It was obvious that he meant to say redheads, but for the sake of propriety, he did not. "It's a... unique… atmosphere." Lucius walked over to the chair Draco had previously occupied, and sat himself down, not saying anything more.

"Ummm… sooo… who's portrait is that?" Harry tried to deviate the tension by bringing everyone's attention to a rather large portrait of a man, blonde of course, who sat on an uncomfortable looking chair. When he saw that Harry was rather rudely pointing his finger at him, he sneered.

"Point that finger somewhere else, boy! Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?! Honestly… youngsters these days."

"I don't have a mother…" Harry told this to the portrait of Draco's great-grandfather, quite seriously too, but Draco could see the small glint of mischief in his eyes. The blonde had to cover the urge to roll his eyes. Potter… always looking for some attention. He smirked at the thought.

"Oh… oh… well, I- I didn't know that." Now, his great grandfather was looking quite flustered. This was the perfect thing to break the tension as everyone in the room started laughing at the portrait. Draco's grandfather harrumphed in indignation and left the portrait. Draco suspected he must have gone to visit his great-grandmother.

"Good riddance." Draco's uttering got him a reproaching glance from his father. It was worth it, though, for all the laughs he got. Soon, the conversation began, and as the Weasleys became less inhibited, they started to enjoy themselves. Draco talked and laughed with everyone, and although he could see that they tried to hide it, Ron and Percy Weasley were impressed with his home. At least, they had stopped looking under the couches and tables for trap doors.

oOoOoOo

Draco watched in amusement as Victoire chased Teddy across the lounge around the numerous chair legs and couches. His gaze fell on his mother who was sitting next to her husband, Andromeda at her other side. Narcissa's eyes were red rimmed and bloodshot, she held a handkerchief tightly in her hands, blotting her eyes. She let out a small sniff, and Draco winced. It was hard seeing his mother like this. But this was the most emotion she had shown in a long while, and it would do her some good.

The wards changed again, and this time, all the Malfoys looked towards the front door; the Weasleys noticed nothing. '_This is it,__' _thought Draco nervously. He fiddled with the cuff of his shirtsleeve as he got up to answer the door. Once again, the house elves got to the door before him, and opened the door to allow Draco a sight he had never imagined to see of all things. Behind him, he heard the commotion stop as the Weasleys too, stopped in awe.

In the entrance to Malfoy Manor stood the Greengrass family, consisting of Garryth, Daphne, Tori and last but not least, Titania Greengrass. It would have been a perfectly normal sight, had it not been for the towering pile of luggage behind the family. Draco estimated there were at least twenty trunks. _Oh Lord. This was going to be a _long_ visit. _

Draco took in a moment to study his soon-to-be houseguests. Garryth looked a little more rested than he had looked the day before. The bags under his eyes were gone, and he stood a little straighter. He, like the rest of his family, was soaked, his robes clinging to his arms. Daphne looked just as good as ever, and her face lit up with a large smile when she saw Nott standing next to Draco. She impatiently shook her wait hair out her face. Her blue sundress provided little shelter from the rain, and she started shivering.

Next to her was her mother. It was the first time Draco had ever seen Titania and he had to admit, it wasn't something he had expected. Unlike the rest of her family, Titania had blonde hair that fell in wet ringlets around her face. She had piercing green eyes that seemed to take in everything around her. At the moment her mouth was pursed as she looked around at the Manor. Draco thought she was very beautiful in an ice queen way. She somehow managed to look imposing even as she was dripping wet. Draco had the immediate thought that he would like this woman very much.

Finally, Draco turned to Astoria. She had changed in the twelve months. Her hair was longer, going down to the middle of her back. She, like her sister, was wearing a sundress. It was sleeveless, and went up to her knees, and Draco could see that she too, was shivering. Her arms and legs were revealed and Draco could see that she had tanned from her time in France. Finally, Draco's gaze went to her face to find that she was staring at him, examining him just as he was examining her. She saw him looking at her looking at him and her eyes flashed, challenging him.

Draco turned to the rest of the family, ignoring her; he couldn't see the annoyed look on Tori's face. "Come in, everyone." He waved his wand over the guests to dry them as they stepped into the Manor.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" His guests jumped as a scream came from the kitchen. Draco turned in the spot to see Teddy, now sporting red hair, run out of the kitchen entrance, a terrified expression on his face. He ran straight for Draco and Draco opened up his arms just in time for the little boy to run into them. Teddy desperately tried to hold onto Draco, his arms grasping his shoulders in a death hold. Draco picked him up and wrapped his arms around the trembling boy, trying to calm him. He turned to face the Weasleys, but they looked just as shocked as he felt. At the threshold, he could see the Greengrass' confused faces. Titania let out a rather indignant sniff.

"Shh, shh… Teddy, what's the matter?" Draco felt something pulling at his pants, and looked down to find Victoire who was trying to get his attention. She started speaking in her baby voice.

"Uncah Daco, Teddy sca'd of uncah's eff." Suddenly, Draco understood. Teddy must have seen one of his house elves. Since the six-year-old had never seen one before, he must have been afraid of it. He didn't know how to comfort the boy who was now hiding his face and burrowing into Draco's neck, still trembling. Draco rubbed small circles on the boys back as he paced the lounge, trying to calm him. From the corner of his eye, he could see Lucius welcoming and seating the Greengrass family with the Weasleys. A few house elves bustled about, dragging the trunks to their various destinations. Everyone else was now busy watching him deal with Teddy. Fred and Ron were grinning, completely and utterly enjoying the show.

Draco knew that the only way to stop the boy from being afraid would be to introduce him to the house elves, and make sure that he knew they wouldn't harm him. So right there, in front of all his house guests, Draco called for Mattie.

"Mattie, I need you. Please bring Tipsy along with you." The command was quiet, but the house elf heard, and she popped right in front of him, Tipsy right next to her. Teddy, who had turned to see the source of the pop, let out another yell.

"Arghhh! No! Uncle Draco, make it go away! It's going to eat me!" He kicked his legs out screaming hysterically, and tried to get Draco to move away from Mattie. Draco held onto the boy more tightly, and he saw Mattie's bemusement at being called a monster. Tipsy looked shocked, and she tried to move to hide behind her mother but her legs, still a little weak, gave way and she fell to the floor.

"Teddy, calm down! It's okay! They're not going to hurt you! It's okay!" All of a sudden, squealing could be heard, and Draco turned to see that Tipsy was the source of the noise. She was running, trying to escape Victoire, who was chasing her, giggling all the way. Tipsy, not knowing any better, ran in circles around Draco, Victoire following her, who in turn was followed by Mattie, who was trying to save her child from Victoire.

_Oh God. This is mental!_ Draco felt blood heat his cheeks. He was making a mess of things in front of his guests. He risked a glance at Titania Greengrass, who looked very disapproving indeed.

Teddy had stopped kicking and watched the wild goose chase from his position in Draco's arms. He watched as Tipsy, who had become quite dizzy, ran straight into Draco's legs, bouncing back almost comically, straight into Victoire. Victoire was unharmed, and watched in fascination as Tipsy's orb-like eyes filled with tears. She let out a bloodcurdling scream and hiccupped once before continuing her crying.

Mattie tried consoling her daughter, but it was no use. Mattie turned to Draco and had to yell in order to be heard. "I'm sorry Young Master sir, but Mattie must go now!" With that, Mattie grabbed onto her daughter's hand and popped out of sight. There was a moment of total silence in which everyone's ears were ringing from the abrupt end to the crying.

Teddy scrambled out of Draco's arms and ran to Victoire, who was sitting on the floor playing with her dress, quite absorbed. Teddy squatted in front of her, and shook her rather hard. "Vicky, Vicky! Are you okay?!" Victoire giggled and nodded. Teddy smiled a huge grin and gave her a tight hug. "You saved me, Vicky! You're my hero!" Victoire laughed and hugged Teddy back.

Draco turned to find that all his guests were staring at him. Some were amused, especially Fred and George who had grins on their faces that would make a Cheshire cat proud. Some were disapproving, like his father and Titania, and others, like Tori, were just shocked. Draco cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"…"

"So… welcome to Malfoy Manor, everyone."

"…"

"So… Malfoy," Harry spoke up and Draco shot him a grateful look. "Where did your grandfather go?"

oOoOoOo

It was now lunch time, and the guests were sitting down for lunch – including Blaise Zabini. As soon as he had stepped into the Manor (fashionably late, as always), Blaise squealed and ran over to give Titania a tight hug. The both of them had started speaking in rapid-fire French, conversing about the wedding of Daphne and Nott, which was to take place in only six months.

Everyone was assembled around the long table in the Manor's dining room. The table was set with beautiful china and scented roses at small intervals. Thankfully, there was enough room to house all of the guests. At first, the Greengrasses had been overwhelmed by the chaos that is the Weasley family, but soon, they all hit it off. They were eating the fourth course and Draco had the sneaking suspicion that the house elves were out to impress that day. Everything from the wine to the apples tasted simply delectable.

Outside the thunderstorm crashed on, but inside it was all talk and laughter. Everyone was talking about the upcoming wedding, and there was an air of joy. Everywhere except for one end of the table. Draco had been placed right in front of Astoria, and he cursed the fates for this coincidence. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but the moment he saw her, his stomach had clenched up, and he could barely think straight. He had a thousand thoughts run through his mind, the first and foremost being that he promised himself that he wouldn't let her get to him. Yet here he was, not being able to function properly.

He couldn't identify what he felt. A part of him wanted to speak to her, see how she had changed over the year, but the other part wanted to run away from her, afraid of being humiliated by her again. He kept sending her furtive glances, but she didn't notice any of them. She was too busy feeding Molly Jr., who had taken a liking to her.

Many times through lunch, Draco had to quell the sudden impulse to say something funny, or witty to Astoria, and try to impress her. It was maddening, how he had no control over his thoughts. The worst part of all of it was that he realized he had missed her. _What the hell? I barely know her! How could I have missed her?!_

Suddenly, Titania spoke. She had a heavy French accent, having lived in France for most of her life. She and Fleur had spent the whole lunch speaking about the beauty of France and its cuisine. She turned to Draco and all conversation stopped as everyone turned to watch their conference.

"Zo, I 'eard zat you are zhe bezt man for zhe wedeeng?"

Draco put down his fork and finished swallowing before answering. "I am, actually. I'm looking forward to the preparations." Draco remembered the day two months ago when Nott had asked the blonde to be his best man. Draco had felt thrown off at first, and asked Nott why he hadn't asked Blaise. Nott had laughed and told him that Blaise had flat out rejected the notion before Nott could even ask. Blaise had wanted to watch the wedding with the other guests, and see the fruits of his labours from their perspective. _Labours, indeed. It seems like he's doing more work than Daphne for the wedding._ Draco had been apprehensive at first, nervous at the thought of messing up such an important role, especially at his boss' wedding, but soon he let go of the fears. He was ready for anything.

Titania looked skeptically at him, her mouth in a firm line, her eyes sizing him up. She took a sip of her wine and finally spoke up. "I 'ope you know zhat I plan to make zhees wedding très grande. Es-tu capable?" Her eyes were accusing, and Draco knew that she thought he couldn't handle it.

Draco's eyes glinted in his amusement. Garryth hadn't been lying when he called his wife eccentric. He saw Nott and Daphne looking at him in desperation, and at first he couldn't understand their fear. Then he realized that it was important for them that Titania likes him. It wouldn't do to have the wedding planner and the best man not get along. Draco sent the scared couple a reassuring wink before he answered Titania, surprising her by speaking in French. He could tell that Titania had assumed him to be the English equivalent of a muggle country hillbilly (Seamus had taken the time to explain the term to him), as worldly as a tomato. However, the intense Latin lessons little Draco had gone through assisted him in learning other languages easily.

"Oui, madame. Je suis capable." Draco smiled cheekily at Titania, and saw her eyes shine in mirth… she had appreciated his daring. The tension in that part of the table eased, and the relief was tangible. Daphne sent Draco a grateful smile and Nott an approving nod. The conversation slowly restarted, and dinner continued in a pleasant manner. Although, Draco still didn't say a word to Tori, and vice versa. He had yet to make proper eye contact with her; he was afraid that if he did, everything that he'd been holding back, all the embarrassing jokes and witty comments, would have spewed forward.

Draco saw his father sneaking glances at him and Tori, and had to suppress many groans. He sincerely hoped that his father didn't still harbour thoughts of setting him up with Tori. _Oh, how embarrassing_. He had no doubt that Tori's opinion of him had not changed over the months, and hoped that his father wouldn't try anything.

oOoOoOo

It was now time for the guests to go, and Draco stood in the front hall of his home as the Weasleys all donned their travelling cloaks. Thankfully the thunderstorm had abated, and it was only drizzling slightly now. The sun was setting now, and the Weasleys were chatting about how beautiful the Manor was during twilight. Draco was currently kneeling before Molly Jr. who was sitting on the large settee. The little girl was having trouble putting on her shoes. Of course, she was only two, but Draco had the sneaking suspicion that all of Percy Weasley's children will have been taught these necessary skills from the day they were born.

Draco picked up her shoe and examined it in fascination. It was so _tiny._ He held it to Molly's foot, and gently slid it on. Molly giggled and Draco looked up at her right in time for her to pull his hair. The blonde locks easily came out of their ponytail, and his hair was becoming mussed. Draco tried to pry Molly's fingers away from his head, but it proved difficult; the little girl had a tight hold!

Suddenly, Draco felt another hand in his hair as the fingers gently took Molly's hand out of the bird's nest that his hair had become. Finally, the small hand was gone, and the new hands smoothed out his hair as much as possible. Draco looked up to thank his rescuer and gasped at what he saw.

"Gabrielle!" Draco stood and grabbed the blonde girl in a tight hug, spinning her around a few times, both of them laughing. It was good to have a friend with him to help him survive the tension of the day. She had become close to him over the year, and was like the sister he never had. At first, Draco had dismissed her as being as nothing but a kid, but she had proven her worth when she had been one of the very few to trust him without needing proof.

Soon, he and Gabrielle had started to hang out a lot more, and they became fast friends who would do everything together. Bill Weasley was slightly cautious about his sister-in-law spending so much time with an ex-Death Eater, but Fleur was okay with it (surprisingly) and so it was allowed. Draco and Gabrielle made it perfectly clear that it was a purely platonic friendship, but they still endured much torture at the hands of the Weasley twins, who took great pleasure in teasing them.

"You come _now_?! Why didn't you come earlier?" Draco set Gabrielle on her feet and admonished her. She looked up at him, irritated.

"Silly! I told you yesterday, didn't I? I suppose you weren't listening to me again. You never do. I had work, and as a newbie, I can't afford to take leave now can I?" Her voice still held a slight French accent. "Have to make a good impression on the bosses, you know."

Draco put his hand to his heart in a dramatic show of hurt. "But how could you expect me to go a day without seeing the love of my life?"

Gabrielle laughed and looked around. "The love of your life? Who? Is she here?"

Draco feinted a look of horror. "You wound me!" Draco held a somber face for a second more before bursting out laughing. Gabrielle too, laughed. They turned to the others in the room, expecting them to be laughing along with them. Instead, they found a rather confused group of people.

Gabrielle and Draco exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes at each other. In their opinion, their family and friends (all except for Ginny) had _no_ sense of humour at all. Gabrielle turned back to Draco and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Sooooo… Drakey-boy, got yourself a girlfriend yet?"

Draco smirked unashamedly. It was no secret that he was absolutely rubbish when it came to commitment. He couldn't interest himself with the idiot girls of society for more than a day. A fact that was of great concern to his father. Not so much to him. He was twenty-three, had a secure job and more money than he could count and single. What more could he want in life?

"I'll answer that, dear Gaby," Draco said, using the hated nickname, "if you tell me if you've got a boyfriend yet."

"Hmm… possibly…" She winked at him.

"So, that would be a no." Draco said and easily dodged the swing she aimed at him He leaned in close and spoke in a whisper so that no one else in the room could hear. "Still haven't gotten over that crush on Potter?" Gabrielle let out a nervous, high-pitched laugh, pushing at him half-heartedly and checking from the corner of her eyes if Harry had noticed or not. Her eyes landed on Astoria instead.

Astoria had been watching the whole scene with confusion. Actually she had been going through the whole night in confusion. What was going on? Who was this new man? What had happened to the boring old loser she'd made fun of a year ago? He'd been replaced with this self-assured, handsome man who was able to charm everyone and everything. She could see that her mother already liked him, and her mother was very hard to please. This was suspicious. After all, she was rarely wrong when she judged people, and she was sure she had been spot on when she had thought Malfoy as boring.

In her opinion, it must be a mistake. Malfoy was just having an off day and for some odd reason, he was tolerable. That was all, nothing more. After all, the thought of Draco Malfoy being charming was… it was… just wrong.

But this new girl. She had a French accent, and she was somehow very familiar. And that hair. She knew she had seen it somewhere… but where?

"Astoria? Astoria Greengrass? _Incroyable! C'est vraiment vous!_" To Tori's great surprise, Gabrielle came up to her and gave her a hug. Not knowing what to do in this awkward situation, Tori stood still. Gabrielle let her go, and regarded her with a large smile. When Tori gave her nothing in return, Gabrielle understood. "You don't remember me, do you?"

Tori shook her head, embarrassed that she couldn't recognize her. Gabrielle smiled and started to explain. "I'm Gabrielle Delacour, and I was in Beauxbatons with you; I was five years your junior, though, so I'm not surprised you don't remember."

Tori smiled in understanding. "I'm flattered that you remember me after all these years."

"Who could forget the Belle of Beauxbatons?" Tori laughed and blushed, but Gabrielle continued, turning around to face Draco. "Draco, this is the girl I was talking to you about. The Head of students. She's the one who helped find the fourteenth use for dragon blood."

To Gabrielle's surprise, Draco did not share her excitement. His eyes had gone cold, his face a careful blank. When he answered, his voice was disinterested. "How nice. It's always exciting to reunite with old acquaintances." The old Draco would have been terrified of treating an important guest in this manner, but this new and improved Draco had a bit more guts. He wasn't worried about dishonouring the family as much as he had been before. Now, he was his own man, not dominated by anyone. If something or someone displeased him, he would let them know.

The others in the room exchanged uneasy looks at Draco's lack of enthusiasm. Tori had to work hard in order to restrain her anger. _How dare he?!_ She was used to being praised to no end about her various achievements. It was shocking to be treated so indifferently, especially by someone as worthless as Malfoy. _Well,_ she thought, _two could play at that game_.

Tori started speaking, her face deadpan and staring pointedly at Draco. "I agree wholeheartedly. After all, it's important to keep your acquaintances; especially when you have so few."

There was a charged silence as everyone in the room tried to look anywhere but at Draco and Tori. The two of them were having a silent staring contest, neither willing to look away, to back down, or to show weakness. Neither willing to say anything.

Garryth Greengrass sighed inwardly and rubbed at his eyes in fatigue. He knew that his daughter had an issue with the Malfoy boy, but by the looks of things, it was more than that. This was going to be _long_ stay.

oOoOoOo

Draco lay in bed, his eyes raking over the canopy. He had charmed it to act like the ceiling of the Great Hall so that it would show him the night sky when he fell asleep. If was a beautiful night, clear and not a cloud in sight, but none of it drew Draco in as it normally would have. He was too busy chiding himself for the disastrous encounter with Tori. What the hell had he been thinking? Did he _have_ a wish for social suicide? He didn't need to have a tête-à-tête with society's sweetheart!

He needed a way to solve things, fast. In his haste to appear unruffled by Tori's presence, he'd acted rashly, and done some irreversible damage. He resolved that the next time he saw Tori, he would be the perfect gentleman, cool and collected, always polite. It seemed simple enough. And really, how hard could it be?

oOoOoOo

**A/N:** I used Titania from A Midsummer Night's Dream as a name for my character Titania. I just have a preconceived notion that the fairy Titania is very high-maintenance, and our Titania _defines_ high-maintenance. I recognize that it isn't a French name, but I just loved the name so much for my character.

Sorry if everything seems random in this chapter. It's supposed to be. I'm giving you a taste of how crazy it's going to be. =P Next chapter, you'll see a lot of Tori. =D

------------------------------------------------

Thanks to

**OurLoveIsForever:** I know Draco and the Weasleys are getting close, and it's out of character, but as I said before, I'm going to stop caring about what is "right" and just write whatever I want to write. I have all the time in the world to write more realistic stories later on. Congratulations on the near-700 reviews. You are now officially my hero. Pressure intended. =P

**Drishti Choudhury: **Thanks for your reminders. I guess you don't read my Author's Notes. I said in Chapter 8's note that this story is not going to follow the 'rules'. Here's the note again.

**A/N: **Fred Weasley will be making an appearance in this chapter. I absolutely refuse to accept that he was killed in the Last Battle. You can say that I'm in denial, but I don't care. This is my story, I love him, and I'm not going to have him dead. JKR is cruel to have killed him as well as Lupin and Tonks. But I'm sure she has her reasons…

On that note, Colin Creevy will also make an appearance. As annoying as he was, I liked him, and I did not want him to die. I hope to make him into a slightly more important character… but it depends. I've never tried to juggle more than one pairing at a time (hint, hint… but it's not what you think, trust me.)

Thanks for the sweet words. I hope you like this next installment. And I don't really know who Gary Stu is. Could you elaborate, please?

Okay, never mind. I searched it up on Wikipedia, and I figured out the meaning. So… Gary Stu. I don't really know what to say to that. This is my first story, and I know that Draco seems perfect, but you'll be seeing him lose his patience a lot in the next few chapters. I'll try to remember that for later on. Thanks, again!


	13. Author's Note

I want to thank all my readers for being patient, but I'm afraid you'll have to be a lot more patient in the – probably – months to come. I want to pause TMS for a while, because as it is right now, I would be ashamed to call it my story. The plot is too infantile and the characters are all OOC (as some of you've noticed). Therefore, I've decided to rewrite most of it. This will probably take a long time, as I've started two other stories, and I barely have time to breathe with the workload this year.

Moreover, I can't promise that TMS would be my priority. Of the three stories I have going right now, one is more enjoyable for me to write, and I'll probably focus more on it than TMS.

So to all those who have been checking regularly, I'm afraid it's been for naught. If you like, you can add TMS to alerts, because it'll be a while before I can update. Be assured though, that when I do repost, it means I am done with the whole story. I've learned from my mistakes, and won't be posting stories up online unless it's complete.

On a more positive note, since I'll be rewriting the story, I can ask some of you for what you'd like to see more of. I have a little bit of an idea of what readers want, but if any of you want to volunteer anything more, I'd be glad to take them into consideration. =)

With sincere apologies,

twihart


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